One of the worst things about the current situation is that most of us feel really impotent. Golo?s letter to the Miami Herald gave me a good idea. Yesterday I wrote to Ms. San Martin, the journalist, and exposed my ideas about her article and my concern about the present and future of our country. I also thanked her for paying attention and encouraged her to continue covering the situation of our country. She replied today.
She said that she?d like to continue her coverage, probably pay a visit to the country and that she would pass my letter on to the editor in the hope that it will be published. That gave me another idea. One thing I admire about the American public is that when they want change they actively seek to call attention on their plight. Letters to the media are an effective, simple recourse for the people with no voice.
So, I think that we can all get more attention if we start a campaign of contacting the foreign media. We are competing against news from all over the world, so in order to be effective we have to target the right people, the right media, from the right countries. With the help of Chirimoya we are compiling a list of journalist that covers the news for the DR. We can send them emails and see where this leads.
If you would like to join us please write a generic email that may be easily changed to suit each particular medium. These are a few suggestions.
She said that she?d like to continue her coverage, probably pay a visit to the country and that she would pass my letter on to the editor in the hope that it will be published. That gave me another idea. One thing I admire about the American public is that when they want change they actively seek to call attention on their plight. Letters to the media are an effective, simple recourse for the people with no voice.
So, I think that we can all get more attention if we start a campaign of contacting the foreign media. We are competing against news from all over the world, so in order to be effective we have to target the right people, the right media, from the right countries. With the help of Chirimoya we are compiling a list of journalist that covers the news for the DR. We can send them emails and see where this leads.
If you would like to join us please write a generic email that may be easily changed to suit each particular medium. These are a few suggestions.
- Be brief. 3 to 4 paragraphs at most.
- If you are writing to a medium in your own country please mention your nationality. They will pay more attention to your letter if the situation seems to be affecting their fellow citizens.
- Be factual. Please do not exaggerate. We want to appear credible, not like a bunch of hysterical lunatics with an agenda. Your facts should be easily verifiable and you should be ready to mention your sources (DR1 News come to mind).
- Add a personal touch. Repeating the news just doesn?t cut it. State how it has affected you (even if you are an occasional visitor to the country), how it has affected the people that surround you.
- Tell them about your fears and how their contribution may change the course of events.
- Tell them how you feel that our situation has been ignored by them, or how you would like that they follow up in a recent story.
- Try not to be sloppy, it is much easier if your letter is coherent, but don?t worry too much, we are just regular folks. Nobody is going to be nominated for the Nobel for this.
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So? What do you say? Please let me have your comments and suggestions. If you are interested I can provide you with the email list we are compiling.