THIS UST IN

10 lessons from more than 25 years of public interest communications

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This Just In: 10 lessons from more than 25 years of public interest communications

INTRODUCTION
FENTON Communications is the largest public interest communications firm in the country. Since 1982 weve been working for our clients on some of the most defining social movements of the past quarter century, from the fall of apartheid to the rise of MoveOn.org as a grassroots political force. Weve helped our clients expose human rights injustices, protect public health, preserve the environment and advance social justice. With offices in Washington, D.C., New York and San Francisco, FENTON is small enough to be nimble and inventive but big enough to supply a full range of services, from strategic planning and top flight media relations to penetrating advertising and online marketing. We arent guns for hire. FENTON has always been selective about the clients we work with. We choose not to represent clients and projects that we dont believe in ourselves. This policy serves not only our goals but also our clients best interests.

When we were looking to hire a PR firm, we wanted one with the expertise and professionalism of a corporate firm, and the heart and values of an organization that cares about our issues as much as we do. With FENTON, we have a true partner that gets us results. -Michelle Sawatka, Director of Media Relations, The American Lung Association

2009 FENTON Communications. All Rights Reserved.

This Just In: 10 lessons from more than 25 years of public interest communications

1. Reframe the conversation.

Sometimes public policy debates get stale as charge and countercharge are repeated year after year. Injecting new elements into the debate forces people to see the issues with fresh eyes.
Gun violence as a health epidemic Each year, firearms kill nearly 30,000 Americans and injure 75,000. To spur prevention of this public health epidemic, doctors and public health leaders over the past decade have helped move the debate beyond the Second Amendment to focus on the lives destroyed by gunfire and other weapons. FENTON helped the Harvard School of Public Health and a coalition of the nations leading health organizations establish a National Violent Death Reporting System at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study and collect linked data on violent incidents (homicides, suicides, child abuse and domestic violence), just as the CDC tracks diseases. Refueling the fight over fuel efficiency The drive for stronger fuel-economy standards got a fresh start with two new voices on the national stage. A What Would Jesus Drive? campaign urged automakers and consumers to protect Gods creation by building and driving fuel-efficient cars. An ad campaign from Arianna Huffingtons Detroit Project made the connection between gas-guzzling SUVs and our dependence on oil from nations supporting terrorism. By making national headlines, these campaigns helped refuel the debate on the climate crisis. Front-page stories in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal reported automakers reacted to the negative publicity by taking hybrid vehicles more seriously.

What Would Jesus Drive?

o some, the question might seem amusing. But we take it seriously. As our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ teaches us, Love your neighbor as yourself. (Mk 12:30-31) Of all the choices we make as consumers, the cars we drive have the single biggest impact on all of Gods creation. Car pollution causes illness and death, and most aficts the elderly, poor, sick and young. It also contributes to global warming, putting millions at risk from drought, ood, hunger and homelessness.
Rev. Clive Calver, Ph.D. President, World Relief Rev. Richard Cizik Vice President for Governmental Affairs, National Association of Evangelicals Loren Cunningham Founder, Youth with a Mission President, University of the Nations

Transportation is now a moral choice and an issue for Christian reection. Its about more than engineeringits about ethics. About obedience. About loving our neighbor. So what would Jesus drive? We call upon Americas automobile industry to manufacture more fuel-efcient vehicles. And we call upon Christians to drive them. Because its about more than vehicles its about values.
Rev. Steve Hayner, Ph.D. Past President, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship Rev. Roberta Hestenes, Ph.D. International Minister, World Vision Rev. Richard Mouw, Ph.D. President, Fuller Theological Seminary Rev. Ron Sider, Ph.D. President, Evangelicals for Social Action

Rev. David H. Englehard, Ph.D. General Secretary, Christian Reformed Church in North America Millard Fuller Founder & President, Habitat for Humanity International Rev. Vernon Grounds, Ph.D. Chancellor, Denver Seminary

Sponsored By

THE EVANGELICAL ENVIRONMENTAL NETWORK

www.WhatWouldJesusDrive.org
Partial list of signatories. Afliations listed for identication only.

10 East Lancaster Ave., Wynnewood, PA 19096

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This Just In: 10 lessons from more than 25 years of public interest communications

2. Tell human interest stories.

Dramatic stories about people battling overwhelming odds are memorable and persuasive. These stories create common ground for Americans to understand an unfamiliar or complicated issue.
Out on Campus The Point Foundation provides the only national scholarship program for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students, but it had little name recognition. FENTON used the personal stories of Point scholars to tell the foundations story, such as a New York Times feature on Ryan Kim. Disowned by his family for being gay, the Point scholarship catapulted Kim from a delivery boy living at the Salvation Army to a full-time student at Princeton. Scholar stories also promoted the foundation in a MTV partnership for its first Out on Campus Week on mtvU, which aired on over 700 campuses. A story of love, war and the CIA The clandestine role of the U.S. government in Guatemalas murderous civil war was ignored for years until a Harvard lawyer named Jennifer Harbury went on a hunger strike in 1996 to uncover the truth about the disappearance of her Guatemalan rebel husband. Her personal crusade exposed the larger story of the CIAs role in Central America. One womans courage brought to light covert operations, human rights abuses and government corruption. Three dozen New York Times stories and two 60 Minutes segments later, Congress launched an investigation into longstanding abuses by the CIA and State Department.

2009 FENTON Communications. All Rights Reserved.

This Just In: 10 lessons from more than 25 years of public interest communications

3. Seize the news cycle.

Improve your chances for coverage by introducing new angles or news into existing stories, and anticipate upcoming events and anniversaries as hooks for media attention.
50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education UCLAs Institute for Democracy, Education and Access (IDEA) leveraged the 50th anniversary of the landmark civil rights decision to spotlight the state of education in California, particularly for students of color. FENTON collaborated with IDEA to release a poll of California teachers, making sure that localized data was available to penetrate targeted media markets and focusing on the most compelling findings. With an early jump and multiple news angles, the survey rose above the media noise and garnered significant state-wide and local attention. Amber Alert to prevent child abductions The Polly Klaas Foundation worked for years to promote an emergency alert system that was saving abducted childrens lives in a few states. After a high-profile abduction and murder in California, FENTON helped the foundation publish an op-ed in the Sacramento Bee that contributed to the governors implementation of Amber Alerts. Six days later, the alerts saved two teenagers and the foundation launched a national campaign. After an oped in USA Today and appearances on cable news and Nightline, foundation representatives joined President Bush as he signed a national Amber Alert bill.

2009 FENTON Communications. All Rights Reserved.

This Just In: 10 lessons from more than 25 years of public interest communications

4. Harness the internet.

Online campaigns provide an unconventional and low-cost way to spread the word, build community and spur action.
Breast Cancer Action For Think Before You Pink, Breast Cancer Actions campaign calling for better coordination of breast cancer researchs multibillion-dollar fundraising industry, we packaged a viral e-mail by writer and breast cancer survivor Barbara Ehrenreich with voice-over narration and an animated movie of pink ribbons racing for a finish line. Many of the 14,000 people who viewed the flash file took action on the Web site, and the story made headlines in Newsweek, major daily newspapers and on CBS radio, opening the door for meetings at organizations like the Susan G. Komen foundation. The ugly truth behind beauty products Working with Environmental Working Group, Womens Voices for the Earth and Health Care Without Harm to expose toxic chemicals in perfume and beauty products, FENTON produced an e-mail with the provocative subject line, Are her cosmetics hurting his testicles? More than 1.2 million hits to the campaign Web site produced thousands of e-mails to the FDA about their failure to regulate chemicals linked to birth defects and cancer. After widespread media coverage, multinational cosmetics companies ultimately agreed to remove two reproductive toxins from health and beauty products.

2009 FENTON Communications. All Rights Reserved.

This Just In: 10 lessons from more than 25 years of public interest communications

5. Turn advertising into action.

With creativity and good timing, a modest amount of public interest advertising can generate extensive media coverage and change policy. Print ads and TV spots can give media visuals that amplify a story.
Nazi slave labor settlement When negotiations stalled between survivors of Nazi camps and the German corporations that had profited from slave labor, Bnai Brith International and other Jewish organizations knew they had to raise the stakes. FENTON built a media campaign around a series of full-page ads that singled out individual companies Daimler-Benz, Ford and Bayer. The German governments lead negotiator protested that the ads posed a threat to U.S.-German relations, but soon after the advertising appeared, the plaintiffs received a $5 billion settlement. The 2004 presidential campaign MoveOn.org Voter Fund invested in television ads in battleground states on how President Bush was misleading the country about the war on Iraq and about domestic issues such as education and the environment. Public opinion research showed that support for Bush dropped in areas where the funds ads aired.

2009 FENTON Communications. All Rights Reserved.

This Just In: 10 lessons from more than 25 years of public interest communications

6. To move an industry, target one company.

Waging a campaign against one company can get resultsand influence an entire industry.
Pick a Poster Child Studies prove that liquor advertising encourages underage drinking. In December 2001 NBC broke the 50-year taboo against airing hard-liquor ads. The American Medical Association condemned the move on public health grounds. FENTONs strategy featured a full-page newspaper ad that drove people to a Web site that served as an activist portal for a letter-writing campaign directed at NBC executives. Media from CNN to USA Today and the New York Times carried the story. Within a few months, the network announced a reversal of its decision to run ads for hard liquor. Other networks shelved any plans they had to accept liquor advertising.

2009 FENTON Communications. All Rights Reserved.

This Just In: 10 lessons from more than 25 years of public interest communications

7. Tap popular culture.

Popular culture bridges gaps across age, gender and political persuasion. Movies, television and music can make progressive messages resonate with mainstream audiences.
The Day After ABCs The Day After made television history in 1983 when half the country tuned in to watch the doomsday drama about nuclear war. With provocative teasers like Dont watch this alone and public service announcements urging parents to talk to their kids about the show, FENTON focused attention on the work of peace groups to halt the nuclear arms race. The Day After Tomorrow The 2004 movie The Day After Tomorrow was a catalyst for groups including MoveOn.org and the bipartisan Energy Future Coalition to educate Americans about the climate crisis. Town hall meetings held by MoveOn.org with Al Gore and Robert Kennedy Jr., press briefings with scientists, and the distribution of flyers at theaters across the country carried the message, We cant wait until the day after tomorrow to stop global warming. Rock Concerts for Social Change David Fenton, the founder of FENTON Communications, harnessed the energy of music as co-producer of the 1979 No Nukes concerts, five nights at Madison Square Garden with Bruce Springsteen and others. He also helped organize a massive rally featuring Ralph Nader and Jane Fonda, who had recently starred in The China Syndrome about a nuclear plant meltdown, to reinforce the concerts message. The concerts, rally and subsequent wave of activism helped to turn public opinion against nuclear power. During the 2004 election, FENTON Communications helped orchestrate MoveOn.org PACs Vote for Change Tour in swing states, featuring Springsteen, the Dixie Chicks, the Dave Matthews Band and REM.

2009 FENTON Communications. All Rights Reserved.

This Just In: 10 lessons from more than 25 years of public interest communications

8. Make your case with hard science.

Too often, information of vital public interest is released in scientific reports filled with technical language that few read and fewer understand. Accurately framing science for the media and public is vital.
Contaminated Breast Milk A study by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) warned that American women had high levels of chemical fire retardant in their breast milk. FENTON helped EWG launch their campaign alerting the public and pressuring the EPA to reduce environmental exposure to the chemicals sources. Coordinated efforts to explain the dangers and causes to mainstream outlets such as Good Morning America, ABC World News Tonight, CNN, USA Today, the Washington Post and Associated Press piled on the pressure, and the EPA phased out the two most widely used fire retardants. Alar and apples A comprehensive risk analysis of pesticides in food was done in 1989 by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NDRC). The reports conclusion that children were at risk from Alar, a chemical known to cause cancer but still used because of a bureaucratic loophole could have easily been lost in jargon. With a 60 Minutes investigation and congressional testimony by actress Meryl Streep, FENTON helped NDRC transform a dry risk-assessment study into a national debate. The chemical and food industries launched a multi-million dollar spin campaign to discredit NRDC, but numerous studies and reviews since then confirmed the original studys findings. Later in 1989, the Environmental Protection Agency quietly banned the chemical, which earlier had been withdrawn by its manufacturer because of the publicity.

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This Just In: 10 lessons from more than 25 years of public interest communications

9. Cultivate unusual allies.

Supporters who are strange bedfellows or unexpected allies can pique the interest of journalists and influence the public to care about an issue they might otherwise ignore.
Derailing media monopolization When the Federal Communications Commission floated a plan that would increase concentrations of media ownership, MoveOn.org, Common Cause and others launched a campaign to stop the proposal. Focusing on Rupert Murdoch personally, ads about the FCC rule change ran in newspapers and on Murdochs own Fox network. And the alignment of progressives like MoveOn.org with conservatives like the NRA and Parents Television Council proved to be an influential force for media and elected officials. A groundswell of protest generated millions of calls and petition signatures to Congress, which ultimately voted against the FCCs proposed changes. Chefs, a swordfishs best friend By the mid 1990s, North Atlantic swordfish was becoming extinct. Only babies too young to reproduce were being caught. When Sea Web and the National Resources Defense Council asked for a strategy, we created the award-winning Give Swordfish A Break campaign, organizing 750 prominent chefs across the country who refused to serve the fish. Hundreds of print and broadcast stories followed; supermarkets and consumers joined the boycott. Eventually, President Clinton called for swordfish protection. The government, in a landmark decision, placed 130,000 square miles of swordfish nursery grounds off-limits to fishing. The swordfish population has recovered.

This Man Wants to Control the News in America.

The FCC Wants to Help Him.

R
upert Murdoch, the Australian media mogul, already owns the Fox TV network, eight cable networks, and local TV stations in 34 U.S. cities. He owns American newspapers, movie studios, publishing houses, and record companies. But Murdoch wants more. Much more. And to get it, he needs to repeal the last laws that protect the public from monopoly control of the news media. Unless we act now, Rupert Murdoch is going to get his way. Next week, the Federal Communications Commission plans to sweep away ownership restrictions that, for three decades, have guaranteed at least minimal competition and diversity of opinions on the public airwaves. What will it mean? For Murdoch and his fellow moguls, it means swallowing up independent broadcasters and affiliates, and gaining further control over news content, advertising revenue and cable rates. The new rules will allow them to own several competing TV stations in most cities. And theyll be permitted to control the largest newspapers, radio and TV outlets in a single market. For the public, it means higher cable bills, fewer choices, canned programming and reduced coverage of community issues. Rupert Murdochs News Corporation, together with four other conglomerates (Disney, Viacom, GE, and AOLTimeWarner), already control 75 percent of the total U.S. television audience and 90 percent of the TV news audience. Thats local and national, broadcast and cable. Isnt that enough? Isnt that too much?

You Can Help Stop Them.

Of the thousands of public comments filed with the FCC on this issue, more than 97 percent oppose increased ownership of local TV by media conglomerates. Public outrage is perhaps our only chance to stop or reverse these changes. Let the Commissioners and Congress know what you think. Visit www.MoveOn.org to send an instant, personalized comment.

YES! I Want to Help Protect

Media Diversity in My Community.

Your contribution will be used to fund additional efforts to get the word out through more advertising and other means.
NAME ADDRESS CITY EMAIL ADDRESS STATE ZIP

www.moveon.org

www.commoncause.org

www.mediareform.net

Because Common Cause lobbies, your contribution is not deductible for income tax purposes. Make checks payable to Common Cause. Mail to: Common Cause FCC Campaign,1250 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036. www.commoncause.org

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This Just In: 10 lessons from more than 25 years of public interest communications

10. Fight fire with fire.

Conservative think tanks, government officials and corporate flacks stand ready to attack public interest advocates. FENTONs media war rooms can fight back, tackling issues from apartheid and Central America to the death penalty and same-sex marriage.
Environmental Media Services FENTON helped to create EMS, a counter to industry and government environmental information. A nonprofit, independent clearinghouse that holds briefings and connects reporters with experts across a broad range of environmental and public health issues, EMS has become a trusted resource for journalists. Its awardwinning Web site is used by 92 percent of environment reporters, according to surveys, with 48 percent relying on it daily. The war in Iraq Before President Bush invaded Iraq, a concerted effort conceived by FENTON exposed the significant opposition to war from military thinkers and diplomats as well as the hundreds of thousands of ordinary Americans who participated in protests. The coalition group Win Without War connected opponents of the war with major media outlets, created news events and organized private briefings for media decision makers.

Go ahead. Send me a new generation of recruits. Your bombs will fuel their hatred of America and their desire for revenge. Americans wont be safe anywhere. Please, attack Iraq. Distract yourself from fighting Al Qaeda. Divide the international community. Go ahead. Destabilize the region. Maybe Pakistan will fall we want its nuclear weapons. Give Saddam a reason to strike first. He might draw Israel into a fight. Perfect! So please invade Iraq. Make my day.
Osama says: I Want You to Invade Iraq. TomPaine.com features reasons why we shouldnt.
2002 The Florence Fund, PO Box 53303, Washington, DC 20009

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This Just In: 10 lessons from more than 25 years of public interest communications

Testimonials
We see FENTON Communications as a core part of our team. Their almost unique understanding of online organizing, combined with their media and communications depth, has been fundamental to our breakout success. -Wes Boyd, President, MoveOn.org For more than four years, weve been duly impressed by FENTONs ability to manage and weave together complex policy, research and communications pieces into a comprehensive, sophisticated and successful public health campaign. Thanks in part to their work, we now have a federal system in place that collects critical information about all homicides and suicides to guide effective violence prevention policies - just as we do for traffic accidents. -Mary OConnell, Director of Communications, Joyce Foundation When an advocacy group releases a report, it can be difficult to get the news media to stand up and take notice. FENTONs strategic advice and media work was extremely helpful in turning our reports valuable data and analysis into invaluable media coverage. -Russlynn Ali, Executive Director, The Education Trust-West When we take on a corporation like Enron, Royal Dutch Shell or WorldCom on behalf of individual shareholders, or pension funds and the workers whose funds they invest, weve found that FENTON Communications gets our lawsuits and settlements properly interpreted by the media as necessary remedies to corporate greed and misbehavior. For about five years now, our lawyers and FENTON have been a successful partnership leading toward corporate governance reform and significant paybacks to defrauded investors. - Al Meyerhoff, attorney for Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP (Los Angeles) We hired FENTON Communications at a pivotal time in our new foundations growth. At the time, The Point Foundation was not adequately on the publics radar screen. FENTON worked with us to develop messages that conveyed our mission in a way that connected with the public on an emotional level. FENTON is passionate about their work and it shows. They helped put The Point Foundation on the map. -Vance Lancaster, Executive Director, The Point Foundation One of Air America Radios untold stories is the early adopter outreach that FENTON did to ensure that our natural base was excited about the new network. FENTON played a crucial role in our rapid growth and success by building buzz among influential progressive audiences in the months before we launched, helping us knock Rush Limbaugh off the top of the charts. -Carl Ginsburg, Executive Vice President, Air America Radio In a complex, confusing and often hostile media world, FENTON knows how to get our message out quickly, honestly and forcibly. They are great! -Julian Bond, Board Chairman, NAACP FENTON gets it. When it comes to positioning women and girls at the center of social change in the world, FENTON gets that we cant afford to think small. We count on them for their laser-sharp ideas, initiative and savvy. And they deliver every time. -Christine Grumm, Womens Funding Network

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About FENTON Communications

For more than 25 years, FENTON Communications has partnered with nonprofit clients to make social change. We work to protect the environment, improve public health and advance human rights and social justice. This guide is one in a series that weve produced to help build the strategic communications capacity of the nonprofit sector. To download a free copy of this and other FENTON guides, visit www.fenton.com.

Contact Us
Questions? Comments? We welcome your thoughts and ideas. New York Lisa Witter, Chief Operating Officer (212) 584-5000 Lisa@fenton.com Washington, D.C. Ira Arlook, Managing Director (202) 822-5200 Ira@fenton.com San Francisco Parker Blackman, Managing Director (415) 901-0111 Pblackman@fenton.com