a. mark liiv on Fri, 9 Jul 2004 17:39:52 +0200 (CEST) |
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<nettime> smartmeme report on RNC/DNC organizing |
excerpt: Challenging the Frame The Democratic and Republican parties are already using their massive public relations machines to focus America's attention on what is happening inside the conventions and on their electoral strategies. There is a trend of an emerging frame in both Boston and New York where any non-party, outside-theconvention-hall events are presented as marginal and/or irrelevant. Thus grassroots groups organizing in both Boston and New York are struggling to place the Conventions in a much broader frame where the diverse voices of community advocates can be heard. In New York, the RNCnotWelcome.org collective (an unincorporated group) has focused on framing the conflict by connecting the national policy impacts of the Republican Administration to how the RNC convention itself impacts the everyday lives of New Yorkers. Their framing of "not welcome" allows local opponents of the RNC to lay claim to the sympathetic mantel of legitimate New Yorkers, while painting the RNC as invaders wreaking havoc on the local communities through both their policies and their gala events. In Boston many group's efforts to challenge the framing of the conventions are complicated by the nuances and ranges of perspective on the Democratic Party. Since the Democrats do not currently hold power they are less a target for popular outrage and most events in Boston have a far less confrontational tone than New York. One significant exception is the unincorporated group, The Bl(A)ck Tea Society, who is striving to articulate a systemic critique about the state of American democracy which challenges the legitimacy of both political parties. Both their name and their message, "Finish the American Revolution!" trumpet a call to action that frames the Democrats (and by default the Republicans) in the same light as British colonial rulers, and capitalizes on the backdrop of the historic revolutionary war markers of Boston. Other groups are using creative methods to expand the frame around the convention and communicate messaging that transcends any specific tactic. South Philadelphians Together Against Bush (STAB), an unincorporated group, is calling on people to display a red bandanna ("red for regime change") during the RNC. This is a simple, memetic (viral), effort to create a unifying visual that reveals the massive popular opposition to the Republican agenda. Red is a color with a wide range of associations (from Marxist revolution to Republicanism), so if this effort becomes popular it will be interesting to see how well it communicates its specific message. ANNOUNCING A NEW REPORT FROM THE SPIN PROJECT AND smartMEME! =========================================================== PRIME TIME FOR CHANGE: GRASSROOTS COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGIES AT THE DNC/RNC 2004 **Includes Organizer's Directory of groups doing media work at the DNC & RNC! ** =========================================================== Greetings, We are please to announce the release of a new report for grassroots organizers -- "Prime Time for Change: Grassroots Communications Strategies at the DNC/RNC 2004." DOWNLOAD REPORT in PDF FORMAT BY CLICKING ON THE LINK BELOW: http://www.smartmeme.com/downloads/PRIMETIMEFORCHANGE.pdf OR Visit SmartMeme.com or spinproject.org and download the report: http://www.smartmeme.com/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Grassroots organizers across the country are mobilizing their constituencies this summer for the 2004 Democratic and Republican National Conventions (DNC/RNC). In this politically charged election year, many different kinds of organizations and groups - from political parties and organized labor to local non-profits and unincorporated grassroots entities - are working to deliver their messages for change at these major national events. Prime Time For Change: Grassroots Communications Strategies at the DNC/RNC 2004, produced by the smartMeme collective and the SPIN Project, looks at 84 organizations, mostly non-profits and unincorporated grassroots entities, that volunteered information about their upcoming Convention activities in Boston and New York. A web-based survey and phone interviews focused on four areas in order to compile an inventory of organization types and messages; goals, activities, and strategies; resources and needs. The results, and accompanying interpretations and analysis, provide illustrative examples and strategic insights for amplifying the overall impact for any organization undertaking communications work at theDNC/RNC. The report makes four strategic conclusions that highlight both strengths and challenges for on-the-ground media work: (1) Know the terrain-Know the media climate, (2) Message equals strategy-Move your message, (3) Show action logic-Stories have power, and (4) Network, Share resources, and Build movements. An "Organizers Directory" of participating groups, matched up to the resources they require, is provided to facilitate the implementation of the suggested strategies and the sharing of resources. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The SPIN Project (Strategic Press Information Network) provides media technical assistance to nonprofit public-interest organizations across the nation who want to influence debate, shape public opinion and garner positive media attention. SPIN offers public relations consulting, including comprehensive media training and intensive media strategizing and resources to community organizations across the country. We are growing the capacity of organizations to get their voices heard and do more effective media work on issues important to the future of our society. The SPIN Project 77 Federal Street, 2nd Floor San Francisco, CA 94107 Tel: 415.284.1420 x309 www.spinproject.org info@spinproject.org The smartMeme Strategy & Training Project, founded in 2003 is a collective of long term organizers, strategists, trainers and media professionals who combine grassroots movement building with strategies to inject new ideas into the culture. SmartMeme amplifys the impact of grassroots organizing with strategy, training and communications services to effectively integrate message, strategy and organizing. The smartMeme Strategy & Training Project 2940 16th Street Suite 216 San Francisco CA 94103 (415) 255-9133 19 Church Street Suite 10 Burlington VT 05041 (802) 860-1155 www.smartMeme.com info@smartMeme.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SMARTMEME & SPIN EXTEND A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL DNC/RNC COMMUNICATIONS SURVEY PARTICIPANTS! SEE YOU IN THE STREETS, TEACH-INS, FORUMS, MARCHES, ETC IN BOSTON & NEW YORK THIS SUMMER! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Patrick Reinsborough The smartMeme Strategy and Training Project 415-255-9133 http://www.smartmeme.com -- RNC Information is at: http://www.rncnotwelcome.org http://www.counterconvention.org http://www.stillwerise.org http://rncwatch.typepad.com http://www.nlgnyc.org/RNC.html http://www.norncposters.org http://nycplc.mahost.org http://www.times-up.org/rnc_2004.php http://www.campshutdown.com # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: majordomo@bbs.thing.net and "info nettime-l" in the msg body # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime@bbs.thing.net