I’m pleased to announce that I’ll be teaching a 4-week Foundations course at Cherry Hill Seminary starting on September 14th.
Media Outreach for Pagan Groups and Organizations
September 14 – October 5In an age of ubiquitous social media, conveying your organization’s goals and values in an effective manner is more important than ever.
Pagan groups and organizations used to have to deal with exploitative, uneducated, or even hostile mainstream media outlets in order to get the word out, but now we’re lucky if the local paper or television station even has time for any religion-oriented story.
The last decade has seen some major upheavals and cutbacks in the areas of traditional media, with religion beats being cut back or eliminated across the United States. However, while traditional media outlets have been cutting back, there’s been an expansion on the Internet. As a result, its never been easier for small groups to create and disseminate information to the wider world.
This is a hands-on course that will familiarize you with the latest tools and ideas, using a simple, easy-to-remember system based on the traditional “Witches’ Pyramid” (aka Four Powers of the Magus or Four Powers of the Sphinx) to walk you through the process:
Week 1: To Know
The first week we’ll look at why understanding the importance of new/social media is vital to furthering your organization’s message, and explore who you are actually trying to reach.
Week 2: To Will
We’ll discuss why having a dedicated media/press liaison is important, why organizational support is vital, and how to stay committed to outreach for the long haul.
Week 3: To Dare
We’ll explore trying new methods of outreach, why being bold is an asset on the Internet, and why you shouldn’t be afraid to change things that aren’t working.
Week 4: To Keep Silent
Issues of transparency, secrecy, dirty laundry, drama, and flame wars will be touched on.
Each week includes special exercises and assignments that prepare you and your group for the future.
You can register for the course, here. I feel this is a useful extension of the work I do with the Pagan Newswire Collective, and the talks I’ve been giving at events and festivals over the past year. If you are part of a group or organization that is looking to improve its media outreach and strategy, this may be the class for you.
