Media activism

Suggested ways for media and public relations activism

The best resource for activisim is a kit found at http://www.fair.org/activism/activismkit.html from the group called Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting. As they describe it: "Inside this kit you will find ‘how-to’ guides for identifying, documenting and challenging inaccurate or unfair news coverage, along with information about how to promote independent media. Challenging mainstream media and building independent media are equally important components of media activism. Long-term community pressure and grassroots action are key to media reform. We encourage you to photocopy individual pages for use in organizational meetings, educational forums, mailings to your members that urge media action, or any other useful situation. We hope that this packet will help you fight unfair coverage of your issues and communities, and win greater access in media for independent voices." In the kit are email and web addresses for all major US media outlets (ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, CNN etc)."

We ask you to make a commitment to write regularly to media (whether once a day or once a week). Write letters to the editor (short) and op-ed pieces (longer editorials) in various local media. See the talking points.

For sending such letters to the editor you can use this site to find and mail your local paper http://www.MrSmithMedia.com/MrSmithNewspaper.html

We also ask that you to kindly forward any published letters to the editor or any material you like to share with this committee to PRRC-media@mail.com

Contact between activists (preferably a group of people) in each city and the editorial board of the local newspaper to discuss with them the issue of the right of return. Ask that they write editorials about it especially on the anniversary of important events in the history of Palestine and Israel.

Keep an eye on scheduled visits of Israeli and other government officials and go to these events with banners and signs about the right of return. Media are usually there and thus you get good coverage.

Get onto the various chat groups and write about the right of return

Get onto talk shows, call-ins, etc and always mention the right of return and refer people to such web sites as www.al-awda.org

Get your local PBS station and public cable channels to air Mai Masri’s excellent film Children of Shatila. Go to www.pbs.org and hit the link for "find your station" Here is a brief description of this film: (50 minutes): Shatila camp first became known after the horrific 1982 Sabra-Shatila massacre, which shocked the world. Located in Beirut's "belt of misery" the camp is home to 15,000 Palestinians and Lebanese who share a common experience of displacement, unemployment and poverty. Fifty years after the exile of their grandparents from Palestine, the children of Shatila camp attempt to come to terms with the overwhelming realities of being refugees in a camp which has survived massacre, siege and starvation. Documentary filmmaker, Mai Masri focuses on the lives of two Palestinian children: Farah, age 11 and Issa, age 12. Given video cameras, the two express the realities of their daily lives and their history. Their ideas and creativity guide the film at every stage. Out of their personal narratives evolves the story of the camp as a whole and through their images and words, Farah and Issa articulate the feelings and hopes of the young generation.

Remember that we need to make a lot of noise to be noticed. If this makes you feel uncomfortable, remember the level of comfort that children feel in Balata, Shatila, Sabra, Dheishah and all the other refugee camps.