OMJP


Media Survey

Hello all,

We are facilitating a workshop entitled "Redefining Journalism" at the upcoming conference Organizing for Justice and Peace, hosted by the Olympia Movement for Justice and Peace. We created this survey in order to better understand how you and your organization interact with the media, and how this experience can be improved.

The Cascadia Media Alliance is planning a Community Media Conference in September to counter the National Association of Broadcasters and bring together independent media and organizers in peace and justice movements in the NW. This survey will help us plan for that event as well as aid in building alliances between media and movements in the long term. Help us improve this vital collaboration by taking a few moments to fill out this brief survey.

Thank you!

Sheri Herndon, Thatcher Collins and Amoshaun Toft

Section One

  1. Do you have a communication or public relations person/dept in your organization?

    Yes
    No

    If not, how do you do your media?

    Do our own
    Hire outside consultant

  2. Do you have your own publication?

    Yes
    No

    If you do have a publication, is it a:

    Newsletter
    Membership Letter
    Other:


  3. Do you use the internet?

    Yes
    No

    If you do, what do you use it for?


  4. How often do you take advantage of independent media* in getting your message out? (See description of independent media below)

    Never
    Occasionally
    Frequently

    If you do not use independent media, why not?

    Can't find them
    Don't know about them
    It's not a priority

    Which independent media outlets do you use?


    Do you use primarily local or regional outlets?

    Local
    Regional

    How do you do outreach to media organizations?

    Press Releases
    Fax
    Phone
    Email

    How would you gauge the effectiveness of their coverage?

    1: Not Effective
    2: Slightly Effective
    3: Effective
    4: Moderately Effective
    5: Very Effective

    Do you know of other independent media outlets that you don't use?


  5. Do you use corporate media?

    Yes
    No

    Do you actively pitch your stories to corporate media?

    Yes
    No

    Which outlets do you use?


    Do you gear your events/actions toward attracting corporate media?

    Yes
    No

  6. Please estimate the percentage of time and financial resources that your organization spends on "public relations."

    Time (%): 
    Financial Resources (%): 

  7. What is the effectiveness of your current "pr" strategy?

    Ineffective
    Moderately effective
    Very effective

  8. Optional information--but helpful to us:

    Name:


    Organization or type of organization:


    Email or other contact:


    Comments:


Section Two

We especially recommend completing this section if you are planning on attending the Redefining Journalism workshop.

  1. How would you like to use media?



  2. Ideally, how can progressive organizations best get information out to the larger community?



  3. Have you ever used an IMC* site?

    Yes
    No

    Do you know about open publishing?

    Yes
    No

    Have you ever posted/published an article about your organization on an IMC website?

    Yes
    No

  4. How could independent/alternative media* better serve your organization and communicate your issues?



  5. Do you have any anecdotes or stories to tell about your organization's experience either with corporate or independent media* - positive or negative?



  6. How would you design media to better serve democratic ideals?



  7. Would your organization be interested in participating in a consortium of progressive groups in the northwest to develop a progressive pr/communications strategy (and ultimately a nonprofit) for supporting a radical social, economic and environmental justice agenda?

    Yes
    No

    Thanks for taking the time to fill out this survey!





    *We use "independent media" here to refer to news or media outlets that, for political or social reasons, operate outside of the corporate or commercial media model, which has dominated information in the U.S. since the 1930's. Many of these outlets are community-based, reflecting news and information from a geographic or cultural region, while some are national or international in focus. Some examples are community radio, non-English papers, free papers, student papers, pirate radio, IMC's, and a wide variety of magazines, zines and syndicated radio programming.

    Independent Media Centers (http://www.indymedia.org) are web based distribution centers that are attempting to completely redefine what it means to be a journalist. Based on an open publishing model (http://seattle.indymedia.org/publish.php3) indymedia provides a space for anyone to tell their story and get it out to an audience, recognizing that we all deserve to get our stories out there. With over 70 IMC's around the world, both the Seattle (http://seattle.indymedia.org/) and Portland (http://portland.indymedia.org/) IMCs provide a space for highlighting local issues and events often ignored or distorted in the corporate media.


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