Making The News: A Guide For Nonprofits And Activists

by Jason Salzman, Jack Salzman

With the media increasingly setting political and social agendas, news coverage about a problem can be the first step toward a solution. This handbook, based on interviews with media-savvy activists and twenty-five professional journalists, explains how to generate news coverage about any cause or issue that concerns you. Learn how to stage media events, write press releases, compile media lists, contact reporters, deliver sound bites, book a guest on talk radio, lobby editorial writers, columnists, and photographers, and much more. Making the News also contains unique advice on how to create newsworthy visual imagery. Simple, complicated, cheap, funny, flashy—ideas for all kinds of media events are described.

Genres: Nonfiction, Activism

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Elly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I refer to this book a lot. It has good, no-nonsense guidelines for writing a letter to the editor or an op-ed, and a pretty solid walk-through of the press release process. For this last, especially, you need to have at least a basic understanding of the care and feeding of journalists, and you get the primer here. No pretenses either that publicity isn't really freaking hard work, no matter how much your heart's in it.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

An earlier edition of this book taught me all the basics I needed to know (and then some) when I was first trying my hand at PR as a college student working with several campus activist orgs. In the intervening years I've used the lessons from Salzman's book time and time again as a full-time nonprofit PR professional.

[Inggita · Rating 3 out of 5]

an ideabook for creative demonstration and spinning news for activists - Bunderan HI need some makeover!

[Macalester Linguistics]

A 14.0