cannabisnews.com: Media Awareness Project's Web Site!





 Media Awareness Project's Web Site!
Posted by FoM on April 24, 1999 at 11:10:18 PT
Source: Media Awareness Project
The Media Awareness Project (MAP) was founded by Mark Greer of DrugSense and Jim Rosenfield of the Drug Reform Coordination Network (DRCNet). MAP is founded in part by grants from the Drug Policy Foundation.
 The Board of Directors is comprised of Mark Greer, Thomas J. O'Connell, M.D., Kendra Wright, Nora Callahan and Jerry Epstein. Kevin Zeese, Esq. serves as board member emeritus.This board offers a very well rounded, diverse and experienced leadership team. It is helping MAP to grow and expand its effectiveness as well as provide a coordinated media effort for the drug policy reform effort. MAP is a worldwide network of activists dedicated to drug policy reform.We aim to impact public opinion, and especially media coverage, on public policy related to drugs -- to create a more balanced view about our drug policies. Our objective is the dissemination of honest, accurate, information on all aspects of drug policy, including alternatives to the criminal justice/prosecution/interdiction model. Our existing drug laws are flawed, harmful to our society, and based upon inaccurate information and false assumptions. MAPs objectives are designed to correct this situation by providing accuracy, reason and science in place of hysteria and hyperbole. We are recruiting, training and developing a network of volunteer activists and we need your help. Each volunteer is asked to make a specific number of "contacts" per month according to his/her desire and capabilities. Volunteers report periodically on their activities and results. We use the internet for these communications for speed and to keep costs down. "Contacts" are made with news organizations, media producers and our political representatives -- in the form of E-mail, faxes, phone calls, postal mail, personal visits, public and on-air appearances. We respond to media generated articles and programs, particularly with "letters to the editor". Training is available to volunteers in each of these areas. We maintain a searchable database of over 26,000 media contacts. A good percentage of our letters get published and they often generate significant results in editorial content, even when our letters are not published. We search newspapers, magazines, and broadcast media nationwide to find news coverage on drug policy topics. We then add contact information, such as E-mail addresses and fax numbers, from our database to these articles and forward them to our volunteers based on what they tell us that they are interested in. The volunteer then takes action. In most cases the action involves writing a letter to the media organization that generated the initial coverage. Some of our more experienced volunteers have had additional success in generating editorials, op-ed pieces, and magazine articles. Our volunteers have made numerous radio and TV appearances, as well. MAP volunteers include enthusiastic but inexperienced activists along with seasoned professional writers with exceptional credentials. Our "pros" readily share their skills and observations with the new less experienced in order to increase the overall impact. Great support and flexibility is made available to volunteers. Each participant decides which issues are important to them and responds to those specific articles and issues. This provides a large pool of activists from a very wide range of interest groups -- helping each other towards our common objectives. The MAP network provides extensive and inexpensive media exposure on drug policy issues and insures numerous "communication events" for each major media and political contact in the country. We strive to build productive ongoing relationships with these opinion leaders. We seek to prioritize our contacts so that the larger and more influential will receive the most attention. The MAP Advisory Board is composed of leaders from several major drug policy organizations. The Board provides guidance and suggestions on current issues, bringing coordination and cohesion to our efforts. Through this network, MAP offers participants a range of options for drug policy activism. Thanks to the generosity of a private funder, MAP has incorporated and is now a fully accredited 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation. We have begun to approach a number of additional funding sources but are very interested in discussing all possibilities and options with those who possess either the knowledge, contacts, or funds to help us continue and improve our efforts. Please join us. Click the above link to go to Media Awareness Project's Home Page!
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