Forum Post: Why no Spokesperson? Why no Press Conference?
Posted 12 years ago on Sept. 30, 2011, 1:55 p.m. EST by RedneckBob
(3)
from Austin, TX
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
I'm sure you get tons of suggestions, but here are two that I believe worth considering.
Official Spokesperson
- I've worked in and around organizing groups for the past couple of years and they always have an official spokesperson. This spokesperson is doing interviews with the local news stations, local radio, local news papers and national news stations, national radio, and national news papers.
If such a person exists, I've not seen them.
They should be professional looking and extremely articulate. This is the face of your organization and gives main stream media material so maybe they won't focus on the drum circle hippies.
Press Conferences - Announce a press conference. Invite everyone, pass out fliers, make calls, harness the internet. We don't give a shit if main stream media shows up or not, because it'll be broadcast live on the web. The clips of the press conference will be popular and spread all over.
Get your official spokesperson, put them behind a podium, and do this (4-5 minutes max):
- Introduce themselves
- Give a brief history of the movement
- Read list of grievances
- Conclude
Production Work
- Get a podium to stand in front of (attach the official OccupyWallstreet logo on the podium if possible)
- Some lights if possible, we want this to look professional
- Get two official OccupyWall street people to take video. We need quality tripod video with good audio, not some handheld shit.
- Figure out how to stream it live
- Immediately post clips on site for distribution
(how do you format posts?)
Working list of goals: https://occupywallst.org/forum/proposed-list-of-demands-please-help-editadd-so-th/
BOOM!
Shit just got real.
I have the same problem with this that I have with uniting under a 'single, clear message'.. and have spent the last hour or so posting about.
Who actually wants us to have a single spokesperson? The media. Who wants us to have a single, simple message? The media.
Why? Because it makes their job easier.
We are then angry about ONE thing, and all the rest can fall by the wayside.
They know exactly who to talk to, and all the rest of the voices can fall silent.
And when it comes down to it, there is only one guy, and one message to shoot down, so life can go on.
With a minimum of hassle, a minimum of discomfort, and a minimum of expensive screen time.
Quit playing their game.
If we have numerous concerns, that all paint a very disturbing picture of political corruption, corporate greed, and the decline of democracy, then we need to paint it.
Otherwise it will never be seen.
I disagree. The media, by nature, is lazy. Press Packets are used for several reasons:
You want control over the message, don't turn that over to the media.
Press Packets are distributed to the media so your message is clear, articulate, and cannot be misconstrued.
Media is lazy, they want copy-n-paste your message. If you wait for them to write the story, we'll all get moldy.
Sure, you can be subversive and throw out the rules, but that alone won't give you success.
You'll need multiple strategies so a unified message delivered by a clear, articulate spokesperson is a must.
Press Packets, with a unified and clear message are also a must. They are used for very good reasons.
It is a double edged sword. I agree that the rules can be thrown out, but there is risk. The movement must control its message. I think the greatest obstacle is that we are all fighting against the perfect crime of corporate greed and schemes. There has to be cohesiveness to put a stop to this growing fascism of government beholding to corporations.
its a good idea, but I think the problem is there is no consensus on what the message would be. There have been some suggestions for broad all inclusive type ideas but nobody on the ground in NY reads them, or they read them and just don't acknowledge them
You have to organize around a core set of principals and develop a message based off of those principals. This issue must be solved as soon as possible.
I did just see this:
First OFFICIAL Release from OCCUPY WALL STREET
How do we know if it's "official"?
blah, blah, blah, blah, doing things because we thought we had to got us in the mess we are in today.
Agreed... so did 'follow the leader'.
I say we let them know that there isn't a simple band-aid that will fix this.... that we are pissed off and want real, wide-spread change.