GW Associates Public Media

Media Coverage & Strategies
Humanitarian Supply Delegation to Cuba

Excerpts from a report by Hank Strunk, a Syracuse activist and participant on Pastors for Peace 3rd Friendshipment to Cuba 3/94

I was asked to reflect on my trip with regard to the actual media coverage I was able to generate for the greater Syracuse, NY area, how that coverage compared to other’s results, and the usefulness of the audio, tutorial tape, “Living Media - media training designed to bring your 3rd world experience to your community.

I found the tape very good both in rhetorical format and in the actual strategies and details suggested. Although I already feel that I have been savvy on media work for the last few years, I found myself embarrassed by the neglect of some obvious details that would have made this Cuba media project even richer. Certainly there are many caravaners out there who could benefit from the tape and this memo. Most caravaners that witnessed Syracuse coverage were amazed by our results.

From talking amongst the 250 caravaners, it was pretty clear that Syracuse had unique coverage both in terms of quality and quantity, beginning a week before the trip to two weeks after return.

Pre-Trip

• Letters by myself alerting (20) upstate newspapers of my upcoming trip.
• Biographical sketch and upcoming trip detail and purpose very well covered in morning and evening newspapers.
• 3 radio stations gave me 1-3 minute interviews
• Coverage of a successful fund-raising dinner in local papers.

During Trip

• Phone interviews between myself en route and Syracuse newspapers.
• Faxes by myself to many upstate newspapers that I previously contacted
• Photo transmittals by Syracuse Photographer on-the-spot, with subsequent story created around the photos transmitted.
• Syracuse journalist and photographer on-the-spot Cuba sending back three stories during the week in Cuba.

Post-Trip

• Three more stories in the morning newspaper
• 4 radio interviews of 1-3 minutes length
• 2 1 minute TV interviews with photographs on 6 pm mainstream local news.
• 1 6 minute TV interview , new video excerpts on city and greater Syracuse Cable station: aired (3) times
• Lengthy interview in Cortland, NY daily newspaper (30 miles from Syracuse)
• Several more 15 minute TV interviews coming up.

As we traveled along our caravan route, I noticed a variety of omissions in media coverage. . I am not blaming anyone. It is simply that media work requires serious attention and local progressives are often spread very thin and often, from past experience , contemplate media expecting the worst and thus act in a self defeating manner. Some of the flaws observed:

• Local groups had no one focusing on media work.
• When little or no media showed for our caravan arrival into town, it was clear that there had not been persistent follow-up phone calls to the press releases that had been sent out.
• Most caravaners did not have fax numbers to submit to Pastors for Peace for transmittal of daily updates back to the local media.
• I did not witness, but a few, caravaners making phone calls back to their local media during the trip.
• I did not hear many caravaners discussing the details of how they planned to interact with the media upon return. Some talked of slide shows but not much else. Yet many planned on organizing for the next caravan.

In addition to the information on GW Associate’s Living Media, here are a few suggestions from my own experience:

• A phone credit card is a must.
• Carry a pocket, normal size cassette tape recorder with you.
• Use a 6 by 9.5 150 page spiral ring notebook to record and list everything.

There are additional unique efforts that can be made to increase the number of stories generated in local media. They require advance planning to make sure they happen.

For example, meet with media journalists before the trip and brainstorm to develop a list of interesting stories that could be written around the trip. I met with a reporter from the Syracuse newspapers over coffee to suggest a list of topics such as AIDS and HIV treatment in Cuba; Tourism and its effect; Healthcare and education systems in Cuba etc. Some of these topics later appeared as articles

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