ACTION!

COMMUNICATING WITH POLITICIANS and THE MEDIA

Politicians welcome your opinions. You are helping to keep them informed, so be direct and friendly. Tell them how they can help their constituents and the children of their constituents. Include your contact snailmail details. Send copies to The Hub at HelloHub@gmail.com, including any responses. Key messages are to encourage:

• the inclusion of school libraries in their platform

• the need to increase school library funding and staffing

• the significant contribution teacher librarians make to student achievement

Use the letter to ask questions. Find out what they know and what they have done and what they intend to do. Ask similar questions of all members and candidates, so you can compare responses before an election.

Step One Find your local member’s contact details. They will forward your message to the Minister, or you can send a copy direct to the minister. Find your local candidates contact details. Use this page for links to current federal politicians.

Step Two Feel free to use any of our Sample Letters , change bits, or write one of your own.  Consider also circulating a petition.

Step Three Send copies of your email or letter or petition and any responses to HelloHub@gmail.com for a collation of responses.

Here’s one sent by Hubber, Dona Hartwich, to Julia Gillard about supplying computers vs supplying teacher librarians.

Step Four Once you have established some communication with your member, phone them, visit them and keep the message coming.

Further Information

Although designed for the US political system, the Montana State Library has excellent tips for Australians also on communicating with your legislators, including a worksheet to fill out to know your local legislators.

COMMUNICATING WITH THE MEDIA

Use opportunities to respond

• Be alert to items in the news which are related to school libraries: literacy, IT, the national curriculum, all sorts of education issues. Respond through press release, feedback forums, and letters to the editor. (Here is a sample response.)

• Identify the journalists and editors who cover education issues. If one of them writes a story about an issue related to school libraries, send them anything that might add to the story. Start a media file of contacts. Read more at OurCommunity.com.au

• Offer informed views. Give a brief critique of an issue up front, then outline the more detailed stuff in an attachment.

• Target popular papers such as the Telegraph, which is widely read. You’ll have more chance of getting a run because it has more stories each day. In NSW, it and the SMH set the agenda for the day’s radio news and talkback and TV news.

Issue Media Releases (Here is a sample mediarelease2)

• Media releases should be one page and easy to understand on a positive contribution of your school library or library group, a conference, a guest speaker, a special celebration, an award. Make sure school library is the focus.  ”Until Ms Rault was hired two years ago to promote a ‘love of literacy’, the school didn’t have a library teacher. “
• Give them a punchy headline that attracts attention. Make the headline fairly big and in a different font from the text. “Australian teacher librarians present the ‘too hard basket’ to Minister of Education”
• Have a “hook” for your story. “Hooks” might include an author visit, a new library mentoring program for pre-service teachers, the TL’s role in the Premier’s Reading Challenge, National Reading Day, International School Library Day. eg An article on International School Library Day describes the blogsite set up between an Illawarra school and its UK counterpart. The TL goes on to describe research which encourages thinking.
• Make sure your contact person is available, including after office hours (if possible, get a mobile number, and have two contacts).
• Make sure the first sentence sums up the key point you’re making.
• Include the 5Ws. Who is doing it? What is happening? Where is it? When is it taking place? Why is it happening? A hamper of tea and important reading was delivered last…..by two local school girls, …..and ……  to Minister of Education, Julia Gillard. The girls, and their mother, Leonie Paatsch, hoped Ms Gillard would enjoy reading about the importance of school libraries and professional teacher librarians in their learning.
• Mention the full name of your organization, but not at the very beginning. Give details about its function and approximate membership size.   “Further information can be found at The Hub: Campaign for Quality School Libraries in Australia  http://hubinfo.wordpress.com/  led by a think tank of 17 teacher librarians and supporters from across Australia.”
• People want to hear about people.  If you can, include an individual’s story.  Include a photo, WITH caption, or details on when and where a photo can be taken by a press photographer, with someone who is prepared to be photographed, quoted and named.
• Make your direct quotes colourful and catchy, yet informative. Try and write direct quotes so they sound spoken rather than written.
• Make sure facts are accurate. Don’t defame anyone.
• Check spelling and grammar. Have another person check it.
• Mention any opportunity for taking a picture for print media, good sounds for radio, or good vision for TV.
• Exploit slow news days: Sundays and public holidays.
• Use humour or novelty. News can be a pretty dull and serious business and journalists are often looking for something colourful or funny to entertain their audience.
• There is also the option of “Letters to the Editor” often one of the best read sections of a newspaper.

Recognise the importance of local newspapers

Local newspapers are a great way to get coverage in your area. Don’t underestimate their importance. They tend to be widely read in the community. Daily newspapers also monitor the suburban papers carefully and pick up on any important stories, so it can be a useful way of bringing to prominence something you’ve been unable to get a run with in metropolitan or national news outlets.

Further information

An excellent toolkit for Advocating in a Tough Economy and Add It Up, research and statistics to help advocates make the case for libraries in education has been produced by the American Library Association.

Further examples of getting into the media.