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
