Tuesday, January 16, 2007

FW: Chapter Contacts - sample press release FOR YOU TO USE

Vets & Paul,

 

Here is sample press release I received from the national VFP office on the 1/27 actions.

 

If any of you are interested in working with the Alaska Peace Coalition (the group that met on 1/13) on the 1/27 action, please attend a meeting on Tuesday, 1/23 at the following location at 7 pm

 

click for map
Immanuel Presbyterian Church
   2311 Pembroke St.   Anchorage

Corner of 24th & Boniface, turn east then left around median and right on Pembroke, on the right.

I apologize to anyone getting this twice due to overlap between VFP and the Coalition.

 

From: Betsy Reznicek, VFP [mailto:breznicek@veteransforpeace.net]
Sent: Tuesday, January 16, 2007 12:21 PM
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Subject: Chapter Contacts - sample press release FOR YOU TO USE

 

Dear Chapter Contacts:

The following is a sample press release from United For Peace and Justice. It has been tailored to VFP and we encourage you to spread this message to whoever in your area is organizing people to go to Washington DC.

The time is now!

The nation is overwhelmingly against the escalation of troops in Iraq. Some members of Congress are beginning to openly question the war and it's legalities. The timing of a massive anti-war demonstration on January 27th could not be better!

The media is extremely interested in your plans for actions. Your role as veterans in the anti-war movement is priceless and we should be blasting our press with our message - "VETERANS SAY BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW!"

In hopes of getting lots of local media coverage that will help build for the January 27 march, here is a sample press release that can easily be modified to publicize your community's participation. You just need to replace the [brackets] with the information described.

We recommend that you send it out as soon as possible.

If you've never done press work before, here are some suggestions:

- Email or fax this press release to your local TV stations, radio stations, and newspapers.

- Follow up with a phone call to those same media outlets and make sure they know that your group is gearing up for a big march in Washington on January 27.

- Provide one or two individuals who can be media contacts. Have in mind the most important one or two points you want to make to the general public about these issues, and hammer those points over and over again with each media outlet.
 
- Make a follow up phone call to the media outlet the day before your event.  Ask them if they have any questions or need another copy of the press release.

Include anything that might grab the media's attention, e.g. are military families or veterans part of your delegation? Religious leaders? People who've never come to a national demonstration before? Members who have attended many previous demonstrations?

I can provide you with a list of press contacts for your state. We have contacts for radio, television, weekly newspaper, and daily newspapers here at the national office. Please email me if you would like to receive a copy of these contacts!

You can also email me with your Jan 27th plans... We will post them on the website.
Call me if you have any questions!

Sincerely,

Betsy Reznicek

VFP National Office





-----------------------------------------
Betsy Reznicek
Communications and Outreach Coordinator
Veterans For Peace
314-725-6005 Ext 102
www.veteransforpeace.org


"You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom."
- Malcolm X

SAMPLE PRESS RELEASE

Subject: [XXX YOUR CHAPTER] members to Join National Peace March on January 27

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: [XXX Date]

Local Contact: [XXX Name of contact, phone number, cell phone number if different]            

March on Washington Next Step in National

Surge of Opposition to Iraq War Escalation

 

[XXX YOUR CHAPTER] members plan to join massive peace march on January 27

[XXX your city and state]—Bush’s announcement of plans to escalate the war in Iraq has spurred a groundswell of opposition across the country. On Thursday, January 11 anti-war protests took place in more than 1,000 communities. The peace surge will escalate with a major national march on Washington on Saturday, January 27 to push Congress to stand up to the Bush Administration and bring the war to a close. [your city] residents, along with millions of people throughout the United States, say it’s time to end the Iraq war and will join others from every corner of the country to tell Congress and the White House: De-escalate the war and bring the troops home now.

[Quote from local organizer. For example: “As a member of Veterans For Peace, we say Bring Our Troops Home Now!  No one knows more how unjust war is than veterans.  President Bush owes it to the soldiers, families, and Iraqis to end this unjust war.”  OR “It's unbelievable that after the voters, the soldiers, and the Iraqis said they want an end to this war, President Bush is going to escalate it. All they’ve done is increase resentment and violence in Iraq. Congress needs to follow the will of the voters, take bold action, and cut off the funds for both Bush’s escalation and the war as a whole.” said [xxx your spokesperson’s name] of [XXX your group name].Nearly four years after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, a majority of Americans polled believe it’s time to end the war.  According to two January polls, 62% believe launching the Iraq war was a mistake, 70% oppose an increase of troop levels, and 54% say we should withdraw all troops immediately or within a year. More than 3,000 U.S. soldiers have been killed in the war and nearly 23,000 have been wounded; according to Johns Hopkins researchers, Iraqi civilian deaths number in the hundreds of thousands.  The war's cost is approaching $360 billion--money that could have been spent on education, housing for Katrina evacuees, healthcare and other basic human needs.

The Saturday, January 27 peace march and rally are being organized by United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ), a national antiwar coalition with more than 1,400 member groups, including [XXX name of your group]. The weekend's activities will also include a veterans’ event on January 25 to defend the Constitution, an interfaith religious service for peace the afternoon of January 27, and a day of meetings with members of Congress on Monday, January 29. More information about the January 27-29 activities is on the web at http://unitedforpeace.org.

Buses have been planned from more than 20 states and 72 cities, including from as far away as Milwaukee, WI. Car caravans and peace trains will be heading to Washington, DC from all over the East Coast, the Midwest and the Southeast.The three days of actions will send a clear message to Congress: The Iraq war must end. It's time to bring all the troops home.

 

# # #

 

Veterans For Peace is a national organization founded in 1985. It is structured around a national office in Saint Louis, MO and comprised of members across the country organized in chapters or as at-large members. The organization includes men and women veterans from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, other conflicts and peacetime veterans. Our collective experience tells us wars are easy to start and hard to stop and that those hurt are often the innocent. Thus, other means of problem solving are necessary.

Veterans For Peace: www.veteransforpeace.org

 

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