Spin Works!: A Media Guidebook for Communicating Values & Shaping Opinion

by Robert Bray

SPIN Works! is an activist-friendly and extremely useful media guidebook produced by the SPIN Project (Strategic Press Information Network). This guidebook is full of media tips, tactics, strategies, and real-world examples, based on the SPIN Project's work with hundreds of public interest organizations across the nation. It's designed to give grassroots organizers and people interested in positive social change basic and advanced skills for shaping public opinion on their issues through the press. Written with flair, humor and practicality, the guidebook is divided into five The basics, The message, Moving the message, Reacting to media coverage, and Media and community, plus an extensive resource section, numerous case studies, scores of "how to" check lists, several media "models" and much more.

128 pages, Paperback

First published June 10, 2000

Reviews

[Mindy Burroughs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second time I’ve read it and while some info is outdated (I would love a new edition!) it is still so extremely relevant. Framing issues doesn’t change, and we are definitely framing for our lives. It’s never out of date to use corporate media against themselves.

[Eric · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started reading as "homework" for my volunteer work with the Campaign for Better Health Care, a non-profit advocacy group in Illinois.

The book is a good primer for learning how to deal with the media to publicize events and programs. I didn't make it through the whole thing because my needs were fairly limited, and I hadn't read any similar material before so I can't really comment on it's relative usefulness.

It does strike me as fairly common-sense material, but for someone that hasn't been in those situations before it can be useful to arm yourself in advance.