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13 Clearinghouse Rev. 326 (1979-1980)
Working with the Media

handle is hein.journals/clear13 and id is 336 raw text is: WORKING WITH THE MEDIA by Richard Vega* Why Media? This article will cover the why, when, where and how of using the media as a tool of advocacy. It will deal with strategy, tactics, and philosophy. The best way to start is to ask the question, Why media, why publicity in legal services? Apparently, using media as part and parcel of a cohesive strategy is relatively new to legal services. The Western Center on Law and Pover- ty is one of the few programs which has formally initiated a systematic effort to capture and utilize the tremendous poten- tial of the media as a component of client representation. The effort is not merely media relations or P.R., but rather media advocacy. The Western Center's media advocate argues for clients' interests through the public media by: publicizing major lawsuits brought by the Western Center and other legal services programs in California; devising and coor- dinating public affairs campaigns aimed at getting clients, attorneys and community education people on talk shows; conducting editorial campaigns aimed at persuading editors and editorialists to publish or air editorials favorable to the clients' side of the issue; and attempting to convince the news media to interview clients and write or film in-depth features or investigative pieces on their problems and concerns. This media exposure is not for the benefit of the Western Center or its attorneys; it is a way to focus the at- tention of the general public and public officials on the legal problems of our client community. Media coverage allows the public to think about and feel poor people's problems by showing the human faces affected by SSI cuts, illegal rent in- creases, inadequate health care, the closing of county general hospitals, job discrimination, scholarship fraud, and anti- poverty agency closings. If advocates cannot get the human side of an issue across, clients are going to lose; and, for some of them, a slight cutback in benefits literally means the dif- ference between living and dying. A lawsuit in and of itself, regardless of how brilliantly framed and argued, cannot demonstrate clients' problems to the general public beyond the courtroom. A lobbyist's best efforts, with smooth tongue, charts and fact sheets, do not reach out and grab the attention of the voters. An ad- ministrative complaint is probably not going to ripple beyond its bureaucratic backwater. These legal tools only affect the individual public officials and bodies addressed. Legal ser- vices advocates need to broaden the impact of these efforts by generating pressure or attention on particular issues. This harsh reality is the philosophical underpinning for the strategy of media advocacy utilized by the Western Center. Richard Vega is the public advocate for the Western Center on Law and Poverty. He has 10 years experience in community organizing, during which he has used the media approaches described in this article. In the ten months that the Western Center's public ad- vocacy program has been in operation, it has increased the visibility of the problems of clients throughout Southern California and, in some instances, the whole of the state. This experience has confirmed the Western Center's theory that the media can make a great difference in successful advocacy. However, media advocacy must be selectively utilized to maximize its effectiveness. There will be occasions when foregoing media coverage in favor of behind-the-scenes negotiations or persuasion is the wisest decision a program can make. In general, introduction of media into most battles is a healthy element and an effective tool in representing legal services clients. But a word of caution must be given here. The key phrase is representing legal services clients. Both the Legal Services Corporation Act and the Corporation's ap- propriation measure contain prohibitions on the use of media for lobbying except when it is done in direct representation of eligible clients. Actually, linking media activities to specific clients will help efforts; it is much harder to arouse interest in some vaguely defined good-versus-bad issue than in the real struggles of individuals. At all times, it is important to make it clear that we are working for real people who have come to legal services seeking help with their problems. Blending Media Efforts with Litigation and Lobbying When should I do it, how should I do it, and how much work is involved? The Legal Aid Foundation of Long Beach (LAFLB) was helping neighborhood anti-poverty agencies fight severe cut- backs in their budgets proposed by the City of Long Beach, which is the official Community Action Agency for the area. LAFLB filed for a hearing before the city council, as provided by federal law, and also filed an administrative complaint with the federal Community Service Administration. The Western Center and LAFLB held a news conference at one of the programs and at Senior Opportunities and Services, which was scheduled for a heavy cutback. They maintained a policy of news media contact before and at subsequent com- mission and city council hearings and received excellent local news coverage on the issue. Although the issue was not resolved to their satisfaction, media coverage did achieve two things. First, it escalated the issue into one of city-wide .con- cern because it let people know that the agencies that had the greatest budget cuts were those most actively engaged in com- munity organizing and fighting city redevelopment plans. Secondly, it served as a training camp for community groups in how to use media - a valuable skill that they will be able to use in the future. More recently, the Western Center filed three lawsuits in conjunction with various legal services programs in AUGUST 1979

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