Ask Campus Media Chick #1: An answer for Howie
The issue of how to best deal with the issue of anti-Israel in the campus media on a small campus is a tough one.
Howie asks:
I think that there are three things that every campus, big or small, needs to include in their campus media strategy. (Listed from easiest to hardest.)
1. Your basic reactionary "letter wars". Every campus should be writing in letters to their papers when something highly objectionable is printed. It is up to the individual campus to decide when the article is highly objectionable versus only moderately objectionable, and what to do about this. This is the reason this blog was created: to get the word out that there is something of concern that needs addressing, and as quickly as possible. Ultimately, I don't know how big each individual campus is, but I have found that as long as you get one, maybe two letters in every time, you will be fine. As long as you're not dealing with institutional anti-Zionism, you should be OK.
2. Cultivating good relationships with decision-makers at campus papers. Most of the people you deal with don't know Jack about Israel, Palestine and Jewish issues. They may have a sense of the situation and are probably somewhat left-wing (this is university after all) but most likely have no strong opinion on the topic. This is where all Hillel execs and IAC chairs come in, even the ones who can't write. The basics include developing a good relationship with the paper's editor-in-chief, managing editor, news editor, opinions editor, etc., making yourself available to comment on issues, and making their job easy for them. There is a lot in this sphere, and it is very important that you do this PR work - making them feel that they can work with the Jews and Zionists on campus. In association with CFJS, the Canadian Federation of Jewish Students, I'm working on a guide to dealing with your campus media that should be available to you all within the next couple of months.
3. Cultivating good writers who can "deliver the goods". When you focus on proactive messages, you're doing the best thing. Howie's feature article. Judi Siklos' gay bars piece. That's going to do the best job. It also helps that in these cases, you have more space. A reactionary letter is 500 words. Last year, my best article was called "Asking Tough Questions" and was about the intricacies of the Israel-Palestine situation. It was over 3000 words long. I also wrote an editorial about Finklestein's visit, I interviewed Alan Dershowitz and wrote an article proclaiming Golda Meir my feminist role model. All of these were outside the news section I write for. It is your job on your campuses to find the Jewish students who can write features about Israel-related issues and arts reviews of Israeli bands and pro-Israel articles for your paper's Queer issue, etc. Then you need to help them do their jobs. If you have strong pro-Israel volunteers or staffers at the papers, it will make Israel seem that much more human to the paper's staff. This is tough, because you have to identify good writers and give them the tools and education to do their job. And then you have to go away and leave them alone to do their jobs. At the end of the day, the more people you have doing this on an individual basis, the better.
This is a long answer, but it's an important question. For more info, email me aliza[at]cfjs.ca.
Howie asks:
For those who do follow the site, I have a question. Here at SFU we are a very small community. Our student paper is not institutionally anti-Israel but it is just that those who contribute to the paper tend to not support Israel. In the past we have countered this mainly in a reactionary mode through letters to the editor criticizing past articles. Now, I am trying to focus on proactive messages by writing feature articles. I don't like writing letters to the editor mainly because of the lack of space allowed. Well, the problem is that we are not directly countering anti-Israel articles. I am not sure if that is a problem or what. What do you think?
I think that there are three things that every campus, big or small, needs to include in their campus media strategy. (Listed from easiest to hardest.)
1. Your basic reactionary "letter wars". Every campus should be writing in letters to their papers when something highly objectionable is printed. It is up to the individual campus to decide when the article is highly objectionable versus only moderately objectionable, and what to do about this. This is the reason this blog was created: to get the word out that there is something of concern that needs addressing, and as quickly as possible. Ultimately, I don't know how big each individual campus is, but I have found that as long as you get one, maybe two letters in every time, you will be fine. As long as you're not dealing with institutional anti-Zionism, you should be OK.
2. Cultivating good relationships with decision-makers at campus papers. Most of the people you deal with don't know Jack about Israel, Palestine and Jewish issues. They may have a sense of the situation and are probably somewhat left-wing (this is university after all) but most likely have no strong opinion on the topic. This is where all Hillel execs and IAC chairs come in, even the ones who can't write. The basics include developing a good relationship with the paper's editor-in-chief, managing editor, news editor, opinions editor, etc., making yourself available to comment on issues, and making their job easy for them. There is a lot in this sphere, and it is very important that you do this PR work - making them feel that they can work with the Jews and Zionists on campus. In association with CFJS, the Canadian Federation of Jewish Students, I'm working on a guide to dealing with your campus media that should be available to you all within the next couple of months.
3. Cultivating good writers who can "deliver the goods". When you focus on proactive messages, you're doing the best thing. Howie's feature article. Judi Siklos' gay bars piece. That's going to do the best job. It also helps that in these cases, you have more space. A reactionary letter is 500 words. Last year, my best article was called "Asking Tough Questions" and was about the intricacies of the Israel-Palestine situation. It was over 3000 words long. I also wrote an editorial about Finklestein's visit, I interviewed Alan Dershowitz and wrote an article proclaiming Golda Meir my feminist role model. All of these were outside the news section I write for. It is your job on your campuses to find the Jewish students who can write features about Israel-related issues and arts reviews of Israeli bands and pro-Israel articles for your paper's Queer issue, etc. Then you need to help them do their jobs. If you have strong pro-Israel volunteers or staffers at the papers, it will make Israel seem that much more human to the paper's staff. This is tough, because you have to identify good writers and give them the tools and education to do their job. And then you have to go away and leave them alone to do their jobs. At the end of the day, the more people you have doing this on an individual basis, the better.
This is a long answer, but it's an important question. For more info, email me aliza[at]cfjs.ca.
posted by Aliza @ 10:41 p.m.
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