Date: Mon, 1 Nov 1999 15:30:12 -0500 From: David Elliot Subject: [NGLTF PRESS] Creating Change through the media ********************************************* NATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN TASK FORCE PRESS RELEASE Contact: David Elliot, Communications Director 202-332-6483 ext. 3303 800-757-6476 pager delliot@ngltf.org http://www.ngltf.org 1700 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC ********************************************* CREATING CHANGE THROUGH THE MEDIA: GLAAD TO OFFER INTENSIVE MEDIA TRAINING AS PART OF NGLTF 'BODY POLITIC WORKOUT' Nov. 1, 1999 - As part of a concentrated emphasis on grassroots political organizing and training, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation will offer several intensive media training sessions during the upcoming Creating Change conference, scheduled for Nov. 10-14 at the Oakland Marriott City Center Hotel. Creating Change, now in its 12th year, is convened annually by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. The sessions are part of the first-ever NGLTF Body Politic Workout, a series of day-long seminars that will focus on such areas as individual and team leadership development, fundraising, grassroots organizing, lobbying, electoral strategies and media skills. GLAAD's media training will involve two intensive seminars on two different days: *****MediaEssentials/MediaPresence will cover the basic tools and strategies for garnering media visibility. The seminar will cover such basic skills as building a media contact list and writing a press release to more advanced skills such as how to handle on-camera interviews and call-in radio talk show programs. *****MediaStrategies, which is being unveiled for the first time ever by GLAAD, is designed to meet the needs of the growing number of activists who are doing more complex and sophisticated communications work. This seminar will cover building a communications infrastructure, message development strategies, launching strategic media plans, dealing with controversy and crisis situations and planning for events. "The most important work the Task Force does and the core mission of Creating Change is to teach and enhance the skills of those who are fighting on the local level for equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people," said NGLTF Executive Director Kerry Lobel. "GLAAD's presence at Creating Change is just another example of GLAAD and NGLTF's commitment to work together and share resources." "Creating Change has always been about empowering local activists and community members across the country," said GLAAD Executive Director Joan M. Garry. "GLAAD salutes NGLTF for providing the space for such community development and is thrilled to be participating so fully with a broad range of trainings. In the last 12 months alone, GLAAD has provided more than 100 critical skills-building media trainings to community activists across the country, and the expansion of our repertoire allows us to be a further resource to the individuals and organizations that take part in Creating Change." Faculty presenting the seminars include Garry; Cathy Renna, director of community relations for GLAAD's Washington, D.C. office; Jane Ralph, educational services manager for GLAAD's Kansas City office; and Stephen Spurgeon, GLAAD communications director. GLAAD also will be providing trainings at the Gay.com CyberCafe in the Creating Change exhibit area. Conference attendees are encouraged to stop by the café, where they can send and receive email, browse the web and get advice on computer and Internet questions and issues. Creating Change will bring more than 2,200 activists to Oakland Nov. 10-14. The conference will include some 120 workshops and trainings on such diverse topics as religion, racism, philanthropy and social change, youth and aging issues, sexual liberation and gender identity, Bay Area GLBT history, family issues, school and campus organizing and men's health and culture. This year's Creating Change is sponsored with the help of Gay.com, Pacific Bell, PlanetOut, Wells Fargo Foundation, HERO Magazine, Harvey Milk Foundation, The Advocate, BREATH/American Lung Association, Kaiser Permanente, Lesbian.com, Olivia Cruises and Resorts, AT&T, Pacific Gas & Electric, Chevron and Port of Oakland. American Airlines is the official carrier for Creating Change. To register or learn how to get involved with Creating Change, please call 202-332-6483 or visit www.creatingchange.org. Working journalists wanting to obtain media credentials should fax a letter stating their request to David Elliot at 202-332-0207 or email delliot@ngltf.org. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is a national organization that promotes fair, accurate and inclusive representation of individuals and events in the media as a means of combating homophobia and challenging discrimination based on sexual orientation and identity. _____________________________________________________________________ Founded in 1973, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force works to eliminate prejudice, violence and injustice against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people at the local, state and national level. As part of a broader social justice movement for freedom, justice and equality, NGLTF is creating a world that respects and celebrates the diversity of human expression and identity where all people may fully participate in society. _________________________________________________________________ The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force presents the Creating Change conference - the nation's premier conference for activists and organizers in the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender movement. November 10-14 * Oakland, CA * http://www.creatingchange.org_________________________________________ This message was issued by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Communications Department. If you have a question regarding this post, please direct it to the contact at the top of this message. To reach the NGLTF Communications Department at NGLTF, please call David Elliot, Communications Director, at 202-332-6483 x3303 or pager 800-757-6476. 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