Response to Occupy LA All Talk No Action

Submitted by m4truth on

Forums: 

 Despite what the LA Times is reporting, Occupy LA is doing actions!  I witnessed several great actions that were approved by the action committee and which I think made it through the GA.

Marches to banks, through skid row, to support homes in foreclosure and more.

The problem is it appreas no one is sharing those actions with the press.

You have to understand, the press is like a hungry dog.  Feed the dog and it will lick your hand.  Don't feed the dog, and you may get bitten.

All it takes is someone to draft a DAILY press release and send it out to the SoCal press.  Headline it with things like "Occupy LA marches on B of America"

Then tell the who what where when WHY and presto, that will appear in the press!  But you have to give it to them. 

LA has the unique opportunity, because you are in the number two media market in the US, and because you are not getting chased out every night, to actually frame the OWS message.  But you need to MANAGE the MEDIA!  Your message is there, just tell people about it.

I am happy to help.  Send me daily action reports and I will get them out to all the press in SoCal.  Send me a synopsis of ALL the actions you have done and I will send that out.  You write it, I'll just get it out.

If you do not define your message yourselves, the press will do it for you, and it will not be correct.  Better to tell them what they should say, and they will!

March to BofA on 13th as an overlooked OLA action

Submitted by sfine2 on

As the person who was behind the original proposal for a March to the BofA on 10-13 (and was the lead coordinator) mentioned above as one of the “several great actions that were approved by the action committee and which I think made it through the GA” I would first like to thank m4truth for remembering it.  I wish it had not taken a controversy generated by the LA Times criticism re lack of action to cause people to rediscover that march among the actual OLA actions that can be named as a rebuttal.  But now that she has:

            First that march and the other actions m4truth referred to should be listed on the home page of the website, as well . . . along with upcoming actions, of course, which should have precedence.  (I know there is a section for upcoming actions, but it is insufficient.)

            Any photo and video links covering past actions should accompany OLA actions listings on the website.  For example, here is a video I put together of that particular march.  I post it here because I have tried without any success for three weeks to get the web team to post it someone, anywhere on the OLA site, at least on the YouTube page.

 

Occupy LA March to B of A, 10-13-2011.avi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3wKcVESmXk

 

I know there was a link running for days under the livestream to a site that had a raw video of the event, but if anyone clicked on over what they found was terrific hour long footage shot SIDEWAYS.  This short video montage, all of 1min and 30secs, is at least right side up.

 

(There is someone in media who has been my advocate, trying to get the web team to realize videos that capture a piece of OLA history, in this case an OLA GA adopted action, should at least be on the YouTube page.  But no luck, so far, and that has gone on so long I gave up.  But, now that people have suddenly rediscovered this action as something to point to as a rebuttal to Mr. Lopez, maybe it will finally see the light of day.)

            Secondly, the reason I originally brought this action proposal to the AC was because I felt OLA should be doing A LOT of marches, get the energy moving out, picking a different bank or other iconic symbol of the 1% EVERY DAY.  This march, using sidewalks, to hold a single one hour rally at the target site, was to be a model of what OLA could be doing all the time.  I had hoped it would lead to others jumping in to devise a basic but simple action strategy along those lines.

            So, yes, every action should be promoted as m4truth lays out.  That is a BASIC pr strategy for any grassroots org.  That it needs to be proposed by her as a new concept is real real telling.

            Finally, a quick rundown on my involvement in that march on the 13th:  I proposed it at the AC, which adopted it and proposed it to the GA, the AC chair allowing me to address the assembly to present it, so some of you may remember me for that.  The important thing, though, is that it was adopted by consensus on the first try, making it an “OLA” march to BofA, distinct from a march to that same location the week before by a different organization.  It was scheduled for less than two days away, on the 13th at 12Noon.  There was no Action Coordination Team to assist me in making it happen.  Nevertheless, we had a successful event.  I only wish there could have been 2 or 3 hundred participating, which could have been the case if properly coordinated.

Perhaps now people understand that should be a top priority.

Try posting on LA.INdymedia.org

Submitted by nobody on

Try posting your press release on la.indymedia.org.

You should get the basics - any key organizers or spokespeople, target of the march, message, time, number of people, etc.  Who What When Where and Why should be on the release.

The LAT and big press won't cover small marches unless they get a press release a day before, and there will be some good visuals.  The deal is that covering a story costs money - so unless it's going to look good, they won't show up.

After the march, write up a story for Indymedia.

The site isn't huge or anything, but sometimes the mainstream press will use it to look for interesting stories.  It's one of a handful of sites that get checked.

Another thing to do is contact the various LA blogs to get them to cover the story.

Send it to everyone!

Submitted by m4truth on

It's good to send it to IndyMedia, and LA Progressive, and MyFDL and others!  but it is just a simple to send it the LA Times and CBS.  It all starts with someone writing a press release.  I have a helpful friend who was arrested withe Occupy Sacramento who will email them out to everyone and see what you get.  Worst case, we are telling the media what they should be saying about us.  Sometimes, more often than not, that works. 

~Sue

Actions are listed daily on

Submitted by lizsavage on

Actions are listed daily on our calender. I am currently working to get all committee meeting times, and places up as well. Actions has been wonderful with getting their stuff up. Everyone should continueto check out the calender which will have a few format changes over the next day or so. 

Also all actions are listed daily at the welcome tent, on the whiteboard, on the south lawn!

My words represent myself and not Occupy Los Angeles. @lizsavage on Twitter

actions listings on the web page needs improving

Submitted by sfine2 on

Lizsavage, with respect to the current listings on the web page, as I mentioned above in my first posting to this topic, I don't think they are sufficient.  The suggestion I made but didn't detail enough, I guess, to get the basic idea across is that ACTIONS should be prominently featured a lot more than in a small window on the upper left hand side of the home page  currently devoted to "events".  Mixing actions and events is problematic anyway, because they are separate activities.  Only one or two of the many events are highlighted while no upcoming actions at present seem to be available for posting in the same space.  The solution is to create TWO categories for the home page: 1) Actions and 2) Events.  Both up top.  The Events box can feature special events of the day and a link to an EVENTS only page where all OLA events are listed, ongoing and special.

That said, today's event listing about the student organizing meeting is that major exception that should be highlighted regardless of category.  (But it also perfectly illustrates the current problem with the events window, because it gets equal billing with the other two events listed, which shall remain nameless, since someone will scream I'm demeaning them when I'm not.  I'm just saying it is obvious which of the three directly speaks to the core issues of the OWS movement.)

So here's a proposal for the Media/web team:
An ACTIONS listings box on the home page should cover the following:

1)  Current and Upcoming Actions adopted by the OLA GA.  (These should link to an info page that has a complete description of the specific action's what, when, where, how, why, which has been the case more often than not, but you also need this on that info page: all contact information for that specific action, whether it be the contact info for the Action Coordination Team (if it really exists), or for any OLA person taking on coordination responsibilities.

2)  Past Actions, with links to blogs about them, videos and photos.  This is your history.  Show it!!!

Any links for coverage of these actions (OLA blogs, videos, photos and outside articles in the press) should be found right below the headline for each past action, linked to a page with more of same.

Yes, expanding coverage for OLA actions will require modification of the home page design.  The forums listings will have to be bumped down a bit, or redesigned into a box where true top category forum topics are the only ones displayed on the home page.  Clicking on those takes you to the current forums page (kept as is).  At present, the home page is identical to the forums page, except for the horizontal space on top devoted to the events listings and the livestream video feeds from OLA and OWS.  That is the part that needs to be redesigned.  Basically expanded to feature actions and events as described above.

As for the listings of events, actions and COMMITTIES and AFFINITY GROUP meeting places and times, there should be a box up top on the home page for links to that info page, as well.  For those of us who cannot make it to the City Hall site, which includes thousands of devoted to plain curious people all over Los Angeles, it would really help if that information was made available on the web site.  Just telling people they can find it at the Welcome Tent is real shortsighted and hurts the cause.  For example, how does Mary find out when Committee X is meeting so she can plan her afternoon?  She can't.  She just has to get down there whenever and check the board, finding out the committee met two hours ago, or doesn't meet this day.  C'mon!  Get that kind of basic info up on the web site.  Please.  You forget you have thousands of supporters in LA who can't physically be there, but are with you.  Think about them, too.

And by listing all the committees you make it clear there IS a lot going on at OLA. 

 

Pages