February 13, 2012 · www.gothamgazette.com

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Neighborhood Activists' Toolkit

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PUBLICITY

Like many people, Scott Crowley found about Wal-Mart's plans to build a store in Rego Park, Queens through newspaper reports. Immediately Crowley and others at Local 338 of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union set out to make more news.

Nationwide, unions have been opposed to non-unionized Wal-Mart, which they as an opponent to organized labor and to workers in general. In Queens, the unions found allies in local business groups, religious groups, and local elected officials. Some opposed the competition and traffic big box stores would bring to Queens; others were put off by persistent charges of workers' rights abuses, exploitation of undocumented immigrants, and sexism.

Given Wal-Mart's unpopularity, those who opposed it figured the best way to combat it was through the media. News coverage has always been a major way for local activists to get their story told, and activists have developed a wealth of techniques to get the media to do so. Local 338 started by urging its membership to contact elected officials and ask them to come out publicly against Wal-Mart. It also drafted a press release.

It didn't take long to get a response -- some officials didn't even need the prompting of letters from constituents. On December 6, Queens borough president read in Newsday that Wal-Mart was planning a Queens store; the same newspaper carried a quote from her spokesman the next day voicing concern about the plan. After being courted by the unions, Congressman Anthony Weiner held a press conference alongside Local 338 less than two weeks later.

One thing led to another. In the three months after Wal-Mart's plans were made public, there were over 150 newspaper articles about the proposed store, many of which were filled with quotes from those who opposed it.

Crowley said that running a media campaign against Wal-Mart was abnormally easy.

"There was an obvious story there: 'The First Wal-Mart in NYC'. it was easy to get the media's attention," he said. "We've been fighting Duane Reade for a while now and it's been much harder to get the same kind of media."

But whether for a cause as high profile as Wal-Mart or one that is more low-key, there are several skills to be mastered when looking for media attention. The Green Media Toolshed has a guide for making contact with the media, giving the basic format for a press release and tips about who to send it to.

"Unlike commercial advertising and communications, advocacy communications is usually not about raw numbers," says Green Media Toolshed in the section of its guide about picking a target audience. "Advocacy communications is about targeting key constituencies to influence their behavior and attitude in order to create change."

Engaging the media doesn't necessarily mean only contacting reporters, Crowley added. Members of his union read the newspapers, monitoring the coverage that was already out.

"As articles and editorials started coming up we responded to every single one of them," he said, "from a local Queens paper, to citywide to statewide."

Like press releases, letters to the editor generally follow a basic format. Tips on writing a publishable letter are available on sites for organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union.

In Queens, the overwhelmingly negative publicity generated around the proposed Wal-Mart led to a clear-cut victory for activists who opposed it: in February the developer who was working with Wal-Mart to build the store said that their agreement had collapsed. There would be no store in Queens.

"We huffed and we puffed and we blew the house down," said Richard Lipsky of the National Retail Alliance, another group opposing the store.

But like most activists' victories, it was not really the end. Wal-Mart is now looking to open a store in Staten Island. The store and its New York City opponents are preparing for another round.

TOOLS

MEDIA GUIDES FOR ACTIVISTS

Green Media Toolshed -- This Web site, a resource intended for environmental advocates, has a series of basic, useful tools and tips available for free. For paying members, it also has more advanced services, like lists of potentially useful reporters.

SPIN Project -- A Web site designed to help community-based organizations with public relations, this site has media resources, tips, tools and links.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Writing Tips -- From the Human Rights Watch

Where to Send Them
New York Times
New York Post
New York Daily News
Newsday
New York Sun









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