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Contacting the Media

As advocates it is helpful to prepare a communications strategy to support your advocacy work. It is essential to identify:
  • Key messages with consistent, clear, and compelling language about service-learning
  • Appropriate messengers
  • Relevant message forms
Messages, as well as language, depend on context — that is, to whom they are directed, why, when, where, and by whom. Your message should be carried by many people — you, your allies, service-learning practitioners and students, students' families, educators, members of the media, community partners' staff, civic leaders, and the like. Similarly, your messages can come in many forms — for example, a letter, an email, a press-release, a report, or a video.

These resources are available to help you create effective messages:
  • The Partnership's step-by-step advocacy guide, Inform and Influence: Advocating for Service-Learning, provides tips, resources, and links on how to advocate effectively for service-learning.
  • The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development's Advocacy Kit has an excellent section devoted to working with the media. Although not specific to service-learning advocacy, the kit provides instruction on writing press releases, op-eds, and letters to the editor.
  • The W.K. Kellogg Communications and Marketing Kit includes both references and specific, detailed steps necessary to understand options, identify resources, plan, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of a communications/social marketing initiative for your organization.
  • The Corporation for National and Community Service has created A Guide to Working With the Media, which includes a description of different types of media and when to use each one to promote your service-learning initiative.
  • The Jossey-Bass Guide to Strategic Communications for Nonprofits: A Step-by-Step Guide to Working with the Media to Generate Publicity, Enhance Fundraising, Build Membership, Change Public Policy, Handle Crises, and More!


Media Outreach Tips
Media outreach is useful if your advocacy work is ready for media attention. If you are not ready, involving the media may result in negative publicity, which can set back your efforts.

When you are ready to reach out to members of the media:
  • Decide whom you are trying to reach
  • Create positive relationships with relevant reporters and editors.
  • Determine your story
  • Attend to timing
  • Use a full range of communication vehicles
  • Focus on local media outlets
  • Identify "slow" news days. You are more likely to receive media coverage during days when fewer publicly visible events are occupying the media's attention.
  • Choose a spokesperson
  • Know your issues. To the greatest extent possible, the advocates who pitch stories to the media or handle media requests and questions should be service-learning experts.
  • Invite a reporter to join in a local service-learning project
  • Keep trying - persistence is key.