Campaign to Stem
Societal Violence

Working with the Media

The media has tremendous power to change attitudes and influence public opinion. Too often, the media is seen as being on the other side of this issue, glorifying violence in programming, and covering tragedies through such in-depth news coverage that would-be perpetrators "copycat" crimes they've become engrossed with through endless media coverage.

This does not have to be the case, though -- local media are members of the community, too, and just as invested in preventing and stemming societal violence as anyone else. Be sure to use the "Key Messages" and work with appropriate community leaders to proactively reach out to local media and involve them in your efforts.

Letters-to-the-Editor
Personal experiences written by members of the community make the most effective letters for local newspapers. Identify students and other members of the community with compelling stories. When editors receive multiple letters on a given topic, they are more likely to run at least one. Call the newspaper and speak with the editor of the editorial pages. Ask about specific requirements of the paper, such as word limits, and about the most appropriate way to submit the piece for consideration. If your first submission isn't published, keep trying! Submit your letter to other publications, and continue to follow up with them.

OpEds
Letters-to-the-editor generally run between 150-250 words, depending on the publication, whereas OpEds are considerably longer, averaging about 750 words. Again, you'll want to be sure to get your specific paper's requirements, but OpEds allow for much more thorough coverage of the subject.

Editorial
Editorial pages are among the most-read pages in any newspaper. While this makes Letters-to-the-Editor and OpEds good bets, the best coverage is if you can have an editorial placed, in which the editors of the paper essentially make your argument for you, lending greater weight in many readers' minds. In order to have an editorial placed, you'll need to set up a meeting with the paper's editorial board to discuss the issue.