Communications
This infrastructure function working group addresses ways to improve communications capacity for the progressive movement, particularly in regard to reaching beyond the usual base. There are many moderate and progressive organizations that have, as their sole purpose or as part of their operations, capacity in areas such as communication strategy; media and communications training; speakers' bureaus; and preparation and distribution of press releases, newsletters, and other print material. Others are engaged in production and distribution of print, video and audio material; media placement; independent journalism; advertising; public relations; and communications related to political campaigns and parties. Distinct areas include ethnic and student media; blogging; specialty communications such as filmmaking, theater, house parties, T-shirts and other message-bearing items, billboards, and vocal performances; communications to faith groups and membership organizations; leafleting; word-of-mouth; and various digital communication forms.
The emerging progressive movement needs to use these resources more effectively to reach new audiences with progressive ideas and values, and to move public opinion toward greater support of progressive policies and leaders. New programs, alliances, and even new organizations may be needed to achieve the most effective communication of progressive ideas to a wide range of audiences.
Members of the Communications working group will exchange ideas and information about:
- The types of capacity needed for more effectively communicating to specific audiences as well as the general public
- How to get a larger "share of voice"
- Existing resources and allies-who they are and what they do well
- Weaknesses and gaps-what needs to be improved or created
- How different types of organizations (501c3, 501c4, 527, PAC, for-profit, individuals, political entities) can and should relate to each other in their communications efforts, for greatest effectiveness in advancing the progressive movement as a whole, as well as promoting individual issues
- How those engaged in the communications sector might best relate to other functions and parts of progressive infrastructure, such as marketing strategy and market research; framing, strategic narrative, and branding; media production; media dissemination, broadcasting, and distribution; independent and mainstream journalism; blogging and other digital communication forms; and political campaigns and parties
- How to increase cooperation in communications-related efforts, deal with conflicts and different approaches, and facilitate change when needed
During the March 2006 Progressive Roundtable convening, if Communications is
your primary function area, you will have the opportunity to work with other
members of your group on specific plans for developing new communication resources
and capabilities needed to satisfy pressing needs.
To revitalize a progressive religious movement as an identifiable moral backbone for the overall progressive movement, Faithful America and Faith Voices for the Common Good are seeking support to create a joint information-delivery and technology infrastructure to reach mainstream religious people with progressive messaging through innovative social software, such as Faith Voices’ unique, interactive Synanim technology (Synanim.org). This collaboration will expand the current reach of the two organizations for optimum messaging and coordination of work to engage both clergy and laity in more active participation in providing moral frameworks for the progressive movement. This linkage will broaden their reach by growing www.faithfulamerica.org from 100,000 to a target of 500,000 members and Faith Voices from 20 to 50 organizational members to support Faith Voices’ Gather Heart messaging system for clergy, which enables clergy to create sermons online with Synanim. Between them, the two organizations have potential access to 86,000 clergy and 45,000,000 Christians. The joint infrastructure will provide world-class clergy leadership training and a dynamic and centralized online service for growing a progressive religious movement. It will engage persons of faith in public debate and enable interactive discourse on progressive values, thereby strengthening the moral public voice of the progressive movement.
Founded and operated by a former Reuters television producer and a team of seasoned reporters and editors, Public News Service (PNS) proposes building out its network of state-based progressive AP-style news services, which currently provide news used by mainstream, alternative, independent and ethnic outlets, both local and national in scope. Integrating progressive voices with new and existing technologies, PNS’s charge is to build editorial and infrastructure capacity to provide a vehicle to “mainline” progressive content as ubiquitously and quickly as possible. PNS’s expansion will:
- add local progressive coverage for five additional key states (FL, PA, MI, VI and TN) to the current coverage in 15 states;
- increase the number of nonprofits brought into the network of strategic communicators as well as the range of issues that PNS reports on, in particular by creating a new Congressional Progressive Caucus beat to localize and “translate” national stories; and
- add new capabilities to its internet distribution, thus widening its audience.
Faith Voices for the Common Good proposes collaborating with The New Press to integrate traditional publishing with innovative online technologies; to expand the number and impact of progressive books; and to facilitate grassroots conversations of progressive ideas, both online nationally and offline in local communities. In partnership with The New Press, using its proprietary software, Synanim, Faith Voices will create an echo chamber effect around new progressive ideas by broadening and more deeply engaging progressive audiences and developing a line of books on progressive religion, as well as developing new forms and uses of social software technologies. Such an integration of traditional and innovative communications strategies will allow for widespread impact of progressive ideas and strategies, which can supplement or bypass traditional, mainstream, broadcast-media marketing approaches. This infrastructure component will influence the way progressive messaging, community building, and mobilization are done in the future, helping to bring about long-term social change.
Based on its contribution to progressives’ success in Colorado’s 2004 elections, ProgressNow will work with MoveOn and progressive organizers in individual states, to replicate its state-level model through the development of PCNIC (pronounced “picnic”) – the Progressive Communications Network Incubation Center – which will create, nurture and support independent state-level networks in every state in the nation. PCNIC will provide assistance to state-level progressive entrepreneurs by helping them get launched, get funded and become self-sustaining, and by providing services including communications platform, technical, financial and legal assistance. The PCNIC project can quickly be scaled up to build out the most successful elements of these state-level networks across the country. The resulting network of networks will provide a nimble, multi-level communications and advocacy network for the each state’s entire progressive movement. Ultimately this will allow all fifty states to experience the same success as Colorado in shifting from a top-down “one-to-many” approach to organizing voters and progressive communications to a bottom-up truly grassroots “many-to-many” approach.
Operating on the principle of “connectivity”, the Progressive Media Lab (PML) is a multidisciplinary effort to link organizations and experts in the development and delivery of innovative technologies for grassroots and net-roots organizing, communications development, blogosphere enhancement, and content creation. The PML will create a cross-cutting communications apparatus to address the need for integrated progressive communications strategies and implementations. New technologies and distribution strategies will be created and tested and integrated into the progressive movement through on-site training and an application service provider (ASP) approach. Utilizing virtual connectivity across organizations and a research center for the creation and distribution of innovative technologies and innovative uses of existing technology, PML will facilitate long-term and rapid response messaging; grassroots activation; a disciplined, integrated approach to linking digital strategy and data; and creative content innovation. This unique organization will bring together corporate and technology partners to enable more rapid commercialization of the innovations developed.
