 Note
from
Dorothy
Resource
Guide
Broadcasts
Promotional
Materials
Organizational
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Discussion
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Bibliography
 
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WHAT YOU CAN DO (cont'd.)
III. WORKING WITH THE MEDIA
In order to help you "pitch" a story about the videos and/or about
your group's work to your local news media and reporters, we provide the
following:
A. Show the press one or more of the films
The best way to pitch these documentaries to others is to watch them
yourself, and then invite the press to watch them. The power of these
documentaries resides in the openness of those describing their own experience,
both before and after the Supreme Court decision in 1973. Many reporters
will be moved by these stories.
B. Make personal contact
Talk to reporters, producers and news editors in your area who write
about women's issues, abortion, health or other related issues. If you
don't know who they are, call your local newspaper, radio, and TV stations
and ask who covers:
Women's Issues
Abortion/Reproductive Rights
Health Care
Religion
Once you have the name of the reporter likely to be interested in the subject,
you can call that person directly (or e-mail, U.S. mail, or fax a letter
- see the sample letter to reporters). You can
use the enclosed letter, use parts of it in a more personal letter, or
write your own. If the reporter wants to see a preview tape and you do
not have one, contact us by sending a fax to (650) 321-5079, or email to
order@concentric.org.
Be sure to follow up your letter to the reporter with a phone call.
C. Finding ways to interest reporters and journalists
Whether you are using the videos as the centerpiece of a January Roe
v. Wade anniversary activity, for Women's History Month in March,
or for different occasions throughout the year, it is important to find
"fresh," insightful ways to talk to reporters about reproductive rights
or about your organization. The media, whether print or broadcast,
always likes a reason, a "hook," to run a story. Their criteria for
newsworthiness frequently includes timeliness, human interest, and controversy.
FROM the BACK ALLEYS to the SUPREME COURT & BEYOND, a trilogy of
documentaries focusing on the human dimension of abortion, offers reporters
a way to examine the Roe v. Wade decision, while at the same time looking
at both the past and future of access to abortion in this country. These
documentaries also offer an intimate perspective from which to examine
the abortion issue, primarily through the personal stories of those whose
lives have been affected.
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