Newspaper Ads As Friends' Peace Action

Questions and Answers

1. Why newspaper ads?

   As one piece of an ongoing strategy to raise awareness about alternatives to war and other acts of violence, newspaper ads--especially repeat appearances--can be very effective. In them we can:

   • raise questions that we believe belong in public discourse
   • ask elected officials and candidates to say where they are coming from
   • challenge others to ask their questions
   • invite a problem solving approach to conflict
   • build a sense of legitimacy for a voice for peacebuilding in our community
   • offer an alternative voice for those who are receptive but unaware of our presence

   As a one-time action newspaper ads can

   • break the media silence on other points of view
   • make occasion for peace builders to work with others
   • be used to gather signatures as a way of organizing, even before publication (the signatures would then be used in the published ad)
   • let others who question know they are not alone
    
2. What should an ad say?

   Friends meeting in worship may discover a new message or unite with the words of an existing statement. Friends working with others on a text may forge new mutual understandings.

   Minutes of New York Yearly Meeting may be adapted for use.

   If you use signatures in a newspaper ad, be sure to use the text that was signed by those people and make sure they understand that their names will be published

   Seeking a Better Way (the Oneonta Daily Star ad) and Butternuts Friends' experience available from Paddy Lane (607 263-5817). War Doesn't Determine Who's Right, Only Who's Left from Purchase Monthly Meeting is also available.

   Several meetings have used the Gospel of Peace Minute or adaptations of it.

   The AFSC Media Guide includes helpful general advice and specific help with wording. Vicki Cooley (607 243-7075) can send excerpts.

3. What about cost?

   Costs for newspaper ads vary dramatically from big city papers ($22,000 for a Sunday full page, but could be considerably less on a contract for several 3/4 page ads during election season) to medium size towns ($2,200 regular price for a full page in the Oneonta Daily Star, but they have sales) to $360 for a full page in a small-town weekly. Savings if you place the same ad several successive times.

   Raising money to place an ad may be a form of community organizing.

   New York Yearly Meeting assistance with costs is available; see Guidelines. If Friends wish to help with the cost of newspaper ads or other expenses, contributions may be made to New York Yearly Meeting with the notation "peace initiatives." Contributions should be sent to the Yearly Meeting office.

4. What else can we do?

   Newspaper ads are not the only possibility for action grounded in worship. Our work to build a peaceable world will take many forms and a long time.

   A beginning list of suggestions from the NYYM Peace Concerns Committee, What Monthly Meetings and Individuals Can Do for Peace in the Present Situation, is available on this site.

   Many newspapers will publish information from press releases as news, particularly if it is associated with an upcoming event (a vigil, a visit with a political candidate, etc.). It helps to develop relationships with reporters. In addition, newspapers, television stations and radio stations generally have community calendars where just about anything gets published. It's not as much space as an article, but it will be listed in the calendar of events.

Further comments: Mary Kay Glazer of Rochester Friends Meeting, a professional public relations consultant, offered suggestions to Alfred Monthly Meeting. Here are her recommendations (in no particular order).

GENERAL:

• Choose media that are favored by an audience that supports peace or that is undecided. (Others will see the message, but it's not likely that the message will change their views.) Some will disagree with us and may be assertive about letting us know that. We need to be prepared to respond nondefensively and as lovingly as possible while still standing firm in our beliefs.
• Successful ad campaigns (both print and broadcast) require repetition.
• Mary Kay likes Alfred Monthly Meeting's message "Peace is patriotic . . . and possible."
• Many people don't have Internet access. Most of these people are unlikely to go to a library to try the Web, so it's best to have a phone and/or mailing address to accompany e-mail addresses.

NEWSPAPERS:

• The back cover page or upper-right corner near the front are best locations for ads.
• Once per week advertising over a few weeks is more effective than a one-time ad.
• A good subheading in a printed ad would be something like "If you think war in Iraq is inevitable, here are alternatives . . ."
• Newspapers will provide circulation and sometimes demographic data upon request.

• Talk radio stations are more effective than music stations for our type of message, though be aware that most talk stations/shows have a fairly conservative audience.
• NPR is particularly useful because it tends to have more liberal listeners. Mary Kay strongly recommends we sponsor any of the following programs: Morning Edition, Talk of the Nation, or All Things Considered. A joint effort by Alfred, Elmira, and Binghamton-area Friends meetings could be quite effective.
• Drive times are the most effective: 7 A.M. - 8 A.M., and 5 P.M. - 6 P.M.. Don't spend money on producing public-service announcements, since they are usually broadcast during times when there are few listeners. Insist on particular time slots.
• Don't advertise during "conservative" talk radio programs; it's a waste of money – that is, unless you see this as a witness; then, after discernment, you may decide this is what you are led to do.
• Radio stations will provide ratings for various time segments if requested.