Getting Your Story Out

Many of the Blockading Groups will already be skilled and experienced in getting their message out via the mass media but others may welcome some pointers.

  1. Work out who in your group will co-ordinate media work. Ideally this person or persons will involve group members in the actual communication with the media so that a diversity of voices are represented. The co-ordinator should also keep the whole group informed about what is being said to the media.
  2. You may want to arrange a workshop for the group (or some of the group) on media issues. If so you could contact the Faslane 365 Media Working Group for a facilitator.
  3. Work out as a group what will be the main themes of your communications with the media.
  4. About two months before your blockade send out a press release to alert your target media. Follow this up with phone calls to check whether your press release has reached the paper/broadcast station. These calls will give you the chance to develop the story and to build up contacts with journalists. If that goes well you may be able to encourage a journalist or two to attend your blockade or even accompany you to it.
  5. About ten days before the blockade send a second press release and again follow it up with calls. This should repeat the basics of the story but should include any developments/reactions. At this stage a major aim is to get journalists to come to the event.
  6. Make sure that journalists will have mobile numbers of people they can contact at the blockade itself.
  7. Assign at least one person to take high-resolution digital images of the blockade and work out arrangements to get these e-mailed to journalists when and as soon as required. Digital film footage will also be useful.
  8. On the days of the blockade the co-ordinator should be gathering the elements of the story to pass on to the media. There would be scope for a couple of press releases during the event itself.
  9. Have people (both arrestables and support people) ready at the blockade to give interviews.
  10. Have people primed to clip newspaper articles and record news broadcasts.

Some pointers about press releases and contacts

  • Use e-mail to send your press releases -faxes are almost universally redundant. Send the message to yourself and put the media contacts in BCC.
  • Keep the releases short and simple. See below for a sample press release (this is not a model press release - it's just one way of doing it that generally works).
  • Develop your own contact list (see below for basic UK and Scottish contact lists. You will want to customise these for your use. To do so use the directory on the Media UK website

Sample first press release

Press release: 12th September 2006

STIRLING IN YEAR-LONG FASLANE BLOCKADE

Today it was announced that a group of residents from the Stirling area are set to join a continuous blockade of Faslane naval which aims to cause a whole year of disruption at the Clyde nuclear weapons base.

About 40 Stirling people are planning to take part. Their contribution will be to blockade the base for two days, 7th and 8th
November, along with two other groups, one from Stockholm in Sweden and the other from Leicester.

The group are aware that taking part may lead to an arrest for a breach of the peace but have been preparing themselves with training workshops on nonviolence and how to cope with being detained by the police.

Claire Marshall, a gardener and mother of two from Buchclyvie, said: We are exited and a bit nervous since most of us haven't done anything like this before but we are all so fed up with all the lies and the warmongering. It's good to feel part of something where so many people are determined to take a stand for what's right.

Keeping our weapons of mass destruction and designing new ones is just not on.

Nearly ninety groups from around Scotland and from further a-field have already committed to taking part in the year-long blockade, called Faslane 365.

 

Contacts:
Edith Sitwell:
07778367822

 

Brian Cox:
07876593116

Sample Press Release - During the blockade

Press release: 7th November 2006 11.30 a.m.

STIRLING BLOCKS FASLANE

Today a group of residents from the Stirling area are playing their part in the ongoing continuous blockade of Faslane naval base.

About 50 Stirling people joined blockaders from Stockholm in Sweden and from Leicester at the base this morning at 6.30 a.m. At that time the police had just managed to clear away a group from Ullapool who sat down yesterday at the north gate. Today's blockaders have managed to keep that gate and the south gate closed, although base traffic is trickling in through other gates.

So far 8 people from Stirling have been arrested. It is expected that they will be charged with a breach of the peace and released later today.

Responding to the accusation from Defence Secretary Margaret Grantham that the Faslane protesters were reckless and irresponsible, Wilson Stubbs, an administrator with Forth Valley Health Board, said: That's not bad, coming from a Ministry that runs one of the world's most deadly nuclear arsenals. Our presence here today is peaceful, careful and considered. Stirling residents are very conscious of the UK's WMD since the bomb convoys regularly pass through our district. It's thrilling to be a small link in this amazing chain of people power.

Faslane 365 has already led to 814 arrests and has caused the Ministry of Defence to provide a special flotilla of boats to bring in workers and to keep the Gare Loch base going.

Altogether 140 groups from around Scotland and from further a-field have already committed to taking part in the year-long blockade.

Contacts:

At Faslane: Edith Sitwell: 07778367822 and Brian Cox: 07876593116

Photos and digital film footage from Alison on 07987356766

See also: http://www.faslane365.org

Checklist

A press Release should contain:

  • Short Title
  • Single sentence paragraph summarising the story
  • Two short paras developing the story
  • Quote
  • Background note
  • Contacts