Do you ever wonder how an artist or a band suddenly shows up in the newspaper and TV news? How did they get the coverage? Doesn’t your project also deserve press attention? Of course your work deserves to be broadcast too; and, with knowledge of how the press functions and a touch of creativity, your project can make headlines.
Read the full column from Sarah Massey at the Pink Line Project.
The NY Times front page today reads like a playbook of failure:
The Obama administration has decided to continue to imprison without trials nearly 50 detainees at the Guantánamo Bay. … The Supreme Court decision (campaign finance) will increase the power of lobbyists and interest groups at the expense of candidates and political parties. … Lawmakers are weighing a pared-back approach on healthcare …
I mean a failure for justice, health care as a human right, and democracy. There was a sad headline for progressive voices when the left’s response to right-wing talk radio, Air America, went off the air with a fizzle. These issues are interrelated: poor reporting of the news, ill-informed constituents, less than half of eligible Americans choosing to participate in voting, and corporations winning the power to run elections from the Supreme Court. It’s about dominance and greed; and, when the powers that be don’t hear from regular folks, they ignore us.
It almost makes you want to bury your head in the blankets, but you can make change. I challenge you to do one thing today, which is learn how to be a media activist, meaning learn how to call your local newspaper newsroom with an alternative to the bad news your are seeing on the front page.
Pick a positive story. Do you know a local business that is going green? Do you know an arts group that is reaching kids in new ways? What is good news for your community? I specifically want you to find good news, because it is uplifting to audiences and works diametrically to the usual “if it bleeds, it leads” press mentality. This is a viewpoint that is used to scare people and make them afraid to act. Are you participating in a volunteer effort for Haiti or New Orleans? Call the press and tell them.
Find the general number for your favorite news outlet, call, and ask for the newsroom. When the reporter picks up say, “My name is such and such, and I have a story idea for you.” Explain your story and then say, “Thank you for listening to my pitch. I read your paper everyday, but I am tired of bad news. We need something different.”
Remember, it’s the media that persuades people that the problems we face are too hard to fix or that one group of people is dangerous. The media tells us that wars and consumerism are OK. Fox network has a larger viewership than all the other popular cable news outlets combined. And that’s not OK. You can do something about it.
Imagine if 10 people in your community called the paper today with a good news story. They’d have to print it. It would show them a demand.
Demand change.
Some helpful resources for media activism:
FAIR: Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting
- Sarah
Guitarist and Keyboardist Win Top Honors, High Schools to Receive $1,000
Press Release: January 19, 2010
Contact Sarah Massey, 202 445 1169
Washington, DC - Power Pirate, the District’s youngest electronic rock band, won third place overall in the finals of a national teen battle of the bands in Anaheim, CA on Saturday, January 16th. Over 200 bands from all over the country were narrowed down to 10 finalists for a live battle of the bands.
Emily Pakulski (vocals & guitar)
“We’re thrilled by how our performance in Anaheim went, and are glad to be home in DC to continue our progress as a band,” says Annika Monari, the band’s cheerful drummer.
The band’s 15 year old singer and guitarist, Emily Pakulski, earned ‘best guitarist’ and received a new guitar, while Power Pirate’s 17 year old keyboardist, Mike Garate, also took home top honors in his instrument and was presented with a new keyboard. As medalists, $1000 in grants will be distributed between the band members’ high school music programs to spend on new music equipment.
The finals took place at the winter NAMM Show, where music equipment merchants, industry professionals, and professional musicians come together every year to see the new products to be released for the new year. Power Pirate was the only band at the California finals representing DC.
At 15, 16, and 17 years old, the teen band is already accomplished. A December show at DC’s popular Black Cat drew a crowd of nearly 100 fans. Power Pirate also recently released a single titled “And We’re Off” from their upcoming home-recorded album.
Since their formation in 2007, the band has worked hard to cultivate its sound into a rich fusion of ‘80s synths and hard rock rhythms, and cites modern artists such as Muse, Silversun Pickups, and Infected Mushroom as major influences.
Power Pirate will be playing a free entry show (21+) at the Velvet Lounge on Monday, February 8th. Doors open at 7:30 PM.
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Biography:
Power Pirate is a three-piece electronic rock band from Washington, DC formed in the fall of 2007 by Emily Pakulski (vocals & guitar), Michael Garate (keyboards), and Annika Monari (drums). The three met when Annika and Emily hosted an informal session to meet new musicians. Among them was Mike, who stayed with them with the goal of creating original music that fuses innovation and traditional musical theory.
The band is determined to employ a D.I.Y. (Do It Yourself) philosophy by recording and producing their music at home, which is available on iTunes, as well as doing all the graphic design, photography, promotion, and booking themselves. The members make a strong effort to spread their spirit of self-help to other artists.
Since their formation two years ago, Power Pirate has found its place in the DC/MD/VA music scene through catchy melodies and complex instrumentation. The group has played at popular local venues such as the Black Cat, the DC9 Nightclub, the Fort Reno summer concert series, the Santa Fe Cafe, and many more. Inspired by modern artists such as Muse, Infected Mushroom, and Daft Punk, this trio fuses 80s-styled techno synths with hard-rock drum beats and guitar riffs to create the new, un-categorized genre unique to Power Pirate.
About NAMM
NAMM is the not-for-profit association that unifies, leads and strengthens the international musical instruments and products industry. NAMM’s activities and programs are designed to promote music making to people of all ages. NAMM is comprised of approximately 9,000 Member companies. For more information about NAMM or the proven benefits of making music, interested parties can visit www.namm.org or call 800-767-NAMM (6266).
Press Release: For Immediate Release
Contact: Sarah Massey 202 445-1169, Sarah@massey-media.com
Art Brings Us Together: Till Death Do Us Part
Matt Sesow, Dana Ellyn Gallery Exhibit at Long View Gallery Opens Feb 5 With Couple’s Wedding
(Washington, DC) — Where do two artists meet and fall in love? At an art show, of course. On Friday, February 5, from 6:30 – 9:30 PM, two of Washington, DC’s most celebrated local artists will tie the knot at Long View Gallery at 1234 9th St NW. During the opening night reception for Dana Ellyn and Matt Sesow’s “Till Death Do Us Part” art exhibition, the long-time couple will exchange nuptials. The couple is inviting all of DC’s artists, collectors, and art enthusiasts to the public event.
It all started eight years ago when a friend suggested to Dana Ellyn that she check out a venue for her premiere art show. While she liked the space and the art that was on exhibit, she was most attracted to the man behind the paint and canvas, the artist Matt Sesow. Sesow also liked what he saw and invited Ellyn to “see his studio,” which she interpreted correctly as artistic code language for inviting her on a date. Over time, the two found synchronicity in a rhythm together as full-time artists. Painting canvasses and producing art shows mark the beats of their lives.
The “Till Death Do Us Part” exhibition and wedding will be a landmark event for the DC art scene, as well as the couple’s lives. Sesow and Ellyn have challenged themselves to address the meaning of marriage through art. You will see all the myriad hues of married life, the “the good times and the bad times and in sickness or in health.” In Ellyn’s “Institution of Marriage,” the couple wears straight jackets with untouched wedding cake lying nearby. Sesow also takes on the complicated feelings of love, pain and commitment in his “Til Death Do Us Part” as the celebratory couple stands ready to stab each other with sharpened knives, while a bright red heart pulses above. Their artwork also shows the confidence and comfort of marriage. Ellyn’s “Date Night” is a portrait of a beaming woman, sipping two-buck Chuck with curlers in her hair and red booties on her feet. Only a truly happy wife could pull of that look and make it sexy.
"Till Death Do us Part" Dana Ellyn
Ask Sesow what the marriage means, he jokes, “We get to share paint.” Together, the couple shares canvas, acrylic paint, time together in their studios, and they share the spotlight as two of DC’s sought-after artists. Ellyn’s recent Blasphemy Day show grabbed CNN, NPR, and USA Today headlines, while Sesow’s political art made Artnet Magazine’s top-10 for 2009 list.
For the “Til Death Do Us Part” Long View Gallery exhibit, running February 5 to March 1, 2010, Sesow and Ellyn fill the space with a diversity of work, including Sesow’s 100 for $100 small works and Ellyn’s large oil on canvas. Sesow’s work is an emotional response with a foundation built on personal childhood trauma and disability, growth, healing, and a reaction to politics, policies, travels, and life experiences. Ellyn’s color-saturated work is exemplified by a risk-taking vision and playful, yet scathing, critiques of social norms. Both are exploring new materials to create unique sculptures reflecting this next stage in their lives. Sesow’s unique sculptures will be created using kitty litter.
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http://www.sesow.com/wedding/
Long View Gallery: 1234 9th St NW, Washington DC 20009, 202.232.4788
Till Death Do Us Part Feb 5 - Mar 1, 2010
Call Massey Media to put your 2010 dreams into action.
What’s your dream for 2010? Is it stopping the destruction of mountains in West Virginia, bringing affordable, quality health care to the nation, covering the urban environment with murals, ending representational bias in the electorate, or maybe, just maybe, you dream of winning a national battle of the bands and taking your rock group global? As we reflect on 2009, we see the Massey Media team has brought positive media attention and new audiences to all of these dreams.
Mobilization for Health Care for All: Shifting the Conversation in the Press
The summer of 2009 was a time of intense opposition for the national healthcare overhaul. The conversation shifted from what kind of publicly supported healthcare should the United States have to should we have that at all. Advocates and activists took notice and organized to bring attention to the millions of Americans who believe health care is a human right and want universal healthcare for all. Massey Media helped the Mobilization for Health Care for All to create newsworthy messages, bring out the cameras, and successfully use social media to broadcast its vision.
I Wanna Rock: The Power of the Press in the Entertainment Industry
This year was groundbreaking for Massey Media in our work with arts and artists, especially when we successfully placed an art mural on the front page of the Weekend Edition of the Washington Post. As a result, our arts portfolio is rocking with new clients like DC’s youngest electronic rock band, Power Pirate. This fall, we placed the band on NBC4 for a live interview about their dreams of winning a national battle of the bands and playing for an international audience. The results were thousands of new fans who cast their votes in favor of the group and helped the band to win the contest.
Massey Media Takes on Massey Energy to Protect Appalachia
First off, no, we’re not related. Our group of Masseys want to protect Coal River Mountain from destruction, while the other group wants to blow off the top and rip up the hills for coal and greed. Mountaintop removal coal mining lays the mountains low, poisons the air and water and ruins livelihoods. We love mountains and green spaces. We believe there is a better way to make energy, such as wind farms. Massey Media is supporting Climate Ground Zero and this vital campaign by connecting them with national press.
Recent press results for our clients:
Please call us at 202 518-6186 to discuss how we can place your message in the press.
Affinity Lab Spotlight: December 2009 Newsletter
Massey Media
Washington DC Public Relations Firm
(Affinity Lab member)
Why did you start your own business?
Sarah Massey: “I launched Massey Media as a public relations consulting business exactly four years ago. A colleague from AFGE (American Federation of Government Employees) needed public relations assistance while opposing Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s attacks on workers rights to choose a union at the workplace. Rumsfeld said that the unions were a threat to national security. This is illustrative of Bush Administration doublespeak, meaning the government didn’t want to pay employees living wages and benefits. I helped position AFGE in the media, showing the strength and determination of the union for its members and its cause.
Lacy and Sarah
What I learned on that first job was how to lend the expert extra set of hands that campaigns needed, do the great work of making headlines, advance the issue for the client, and build capacity for the client. We then researched and identified a demand for creative media consulting in the progressive political arena and stuck with our niche market until we had mastered it. Most of Massey Media’s clients have been progressive nonprofit organizations, but lately we’ve been expanding our mission. Throughout 2009, we expanded Massey Media’s target markets to include socially responsible businesses and the arts.”
What makes Massey Media different from other PR companies?
One of the reasons our clients select Massey Media is because we are passionate and deeply connected to the issues of our day. Everyone at Massey Media comes from the progressive movement, and we care as much as our clients about advancing their causes. From workers rights to environmentalism, from global justice to public art, Massey Media has a vision of a more just planet where everyone enjoys freedom and has a roof over their head, safe and healthy food and water, literacy, and so forth. We are deeply connected to the media that covers these issues and know how to craft stories that producers and journalists want to use. Our clients know us from the community we serve and see how we work to make stories happen in the press on a daily basis.
Our team has years of experience in the top national and international campaigns: raise the minimum wage, campaigns for global justice, promotion of a climate treaty, protection of voting rights, and so forth. Massey Media identifies the successful campaign tactics and applies them to local projects and small business public relations, and it’s working. For example, we worked with Albus Cavus this summer to publicize their work on DC’s largest public mural in Edgewood. Massey Media operated the media work as a campaign to win more walls for public murals in DC. We announced the artwork project with a press release (campaign launch), we wrote a press release a week telling the story of the artists and the community (developing the campaign platform), taught a workshop on spokesperson skills to the artists and the 45 young people working with the group (empowered campaign supporters), brought the press to the mural wall to see the work in progress, and culminated with a huge community event with live painting (victory rally). The DC art and event press loved it, ultimately awarding us the front page of the Washington Post weekend section and the center spread of the Style section. This coverage has led to more projects for Albus Cavus and renewed interest in public art in DC.
Another reason we stand out is that we take our ethic of empowerment to our clients. When we partner with a client to promote their issue, we hand over all of our intelligence and information tools and help them to use it. Each client gets a Massey Media kit that includes the press results we create, the press list we use and notes with full contact information, all the materials we write, and also a debrief memo on how to be your most effective in story-telling. We believe that using the power of the press is a powerful tool for communications and that the ability to make headlines should be more democratic.
Tell us about one of your newer clients and what you are doing for them?
Massey Media recently started work with the Zinn Education Project to promote their creative teaching tools to high school and middle school teachers. The project brings Howard Zinn’s book, A People’s History of the United States, to life for teenagers. Our public relations work is to place stories about bringing history alive in the traditional press that reaches teachers, as well as social media and popular websites. It’s an honor to be assisting Howard Zinn and the Zinn Education Project, and we feel this partnership a special acknowledgment of our vision. Zinn has helped shape our perspective as active participants for social change. We are proud to be serving our communities by helping people to learn their own history and tell their own stories.
What advice do you have for small businesses and arts organizations who are considering PR?
The most important first step to consider is whether you have the capacity to take on a sustained public relations partnership, both in terms of time and financial resources. The press is demanding. They want stories, photos, and interviews and they want them on a 24/7 news deadline. Do you have time to help supply this or a budget that allows your PR firm to take care of it for you? The best avenue for earned press is to position your business or yourself as an expert in the field. Do you have time to invest in creating this profile? When you get press attention, do you have the capacity to fulfill the increased demand for your services?
The next piece of advice we have is to get ready to get creative. We all think we’re newsworthy; however, the press has a certain approach to storytelling, and there is a lot of competition for their attention and airtime. Your PR pro will help shape your project, product, service, or cause into a story the press wants to cover. This will include chiming in on holidays, (like “Eat Well to Feel Well in 2010” for New Year’s Day) creating fun visuals (fake health care lobby greenbacks with pictures of Joe Lieberman), and having you practice slogans (“hard work deserves fair pay, so raise the minimum wage”) so you get quoted in the press. Get creative and have fun with it!
Sarah Massey, Principal
Lacy MacAuley, Project Director
Check out Massey Media’s rocking-est clients, Power Pirate, as they promote themselves in a national battle of the bands contest on NBC4. They need your vote to win: http://www.power-pirate.com/vote.html.
This young band is focused on getting their music out and getting noticed. Their approach is completely DIY, which means Do It Yourself. They are building a studio, producing their own album, and finding great PR help to push them to new audiences. And, they are 15 and 17-years-old.
Massey Media leverages our DC media contacts to promote Power Pirate because we see this as a positive, uplifting story about what teenagers can do. The Power Pirate story is a strong antidote to the usual “if it bleeds it leads” or negative stereotypes about youth.
Freedom is Created by Collaborative Experimentation
District Calling Brings Together Up-and-Coming DC Artists
(Washington, DC) – District Calling, a Washington, DC-based multidisciplinary arts project, hosts its first collaborative performance showcase at the District of Columbia Arts Center on December 5, 2009 at 7:30 and 10 pm. District Calling: Freedom is a tightly choreographed, full-length performance, featuring the collaborative work of artists from across various performance mediums, and highlighting a diversity of perspectives around the theme Freedom.
District Calling showcases up-and-coming (yet still under-represented) Washington, DC artists across a map of performance media, including music, storytelling, dance, and video. These artists, some of DC’s most exciting talent, have made a considerable contribution in their own performance mediums, but have had limited opportunities and venues to collaborate with artists working in other media. District Calling has provided a venue for bringing these artists together to encourage exploration of new ideas and the possibilities of collaborative performance. By providing structured workshops as forums for artist exchanges, District Calling sought to dissolve traditional artistic silos and build a space for artists to forge new, exciting partnerships, and establish a freed sense of what is possible in their performance work. The result has been an environment of heightened creativity and impassioned commitment to breaking from the traditional boundaries of the artists’ respective mediums.
In District Calling, freedom is examined in personal, social, and structural terms: it is found in the boundary blurring of storytelling backed by projections and music; the dancer’s movements that toy with freedoms of a captive audience; and in the improvisational music of a string quartet whose piece is an ode to creating structure only to become freed from it.
John Moon, sound artist and member of the group Cornel West Theory says this project is perfect for what he’s been wishing to explore artistically. “I have all these crazy ideas in my mind but most of them require other people, so this is forcing me to get a lot of these ideas out of my head. I get to work with some really obviously talented and interesting people. I’m blown away.”
“I’m really ecstatic about the opportunity to work with string instrumentalists again,” says Britton Powell, a classically trained turned experimental musician. “I’m excited to collaborate because it always opens your eyes up to another perspective.”
A grant from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities made the project possible, enabling co-producers Sean Peoples and Melissa Krodman to provide artist stipends and host workshops. Peoples and Krodman chose the theme of freedom as the project’s first showcase as a nod to the process of artistically breaking from the norm, but also as an acknowledgement of the word’s semantic power. “In the last decade there’s been a dramatic shift in people’s association with the word ‘freedom,’ says co-producer Melissa Krodman. “In a way we’re seeking to reclaim the word from the realm of the political and re-explore what it means to us individually, as artists and as humans.”
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District Calling is partially funded by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and sponsored by Massey Media and Affinity Lab.
District Calling: Freedom
Saturday, December 5
DC Arts Center, 2438 18 Street NW, Washington DC
7:30 pm and 10 pm shows / $10
For tickets call: (202) 462-7833
District Calling artists are:
Carmen Wong, Producer and Creative Director of Banished? Productions
John Moon, Sound Artist, member of Cornel West Theory
Ayo Okunseinde, Video/Visual Artist and Co-founder of Ayyoko Confidential
Sean Peoples, Sound Artist, owner of experimental label Sockets Records, DJ (Fatback)
Vivianne Njoku, Percussionist, Storyteller, and Member of the Band noon:30
Britton Powell, String Instrumentalist and Member of the Band Save Hume
Melissa Krodman, Performer, Writer, Producer
Rashad Dobbins, Lyricist and “Blak Fantasy” Experimental Theatre Creator
Heather Doyle, Dancer (Daniel Burkholder/The Playground, Liz Lerman)
Yvonne Gilmore, Poet, Lecturer, Member of Cornel West Theory
Aaron Thompson, Singer, Songwriter
District Calling: Freedom, is a collaborative performance project featuring the work of Washington, DC’s rich artistic community, and highlighting the diversity of perspectives around the theme Freedom.
Contact:
Melissa Krodman
Phone: 202.251.8802 / 240.662.2915
Email: districtcalling@gmail.com
Teen Battle of the Bands Contest Aimed at Encouraging Music Making Among Teens and Helping School Music Programs
[Washington, DC], November 12, 2009— Power Pirate, DC’s youngest electronic rock band, has been selected by NAMM to move on to the semi-finals of the SchoolJam USA teen battle of the bands competition. To win this round, Power Pirate’s fans support them with votes at http://www.power-pirate.com/vote.
“Power Pirate is thrilled to move up to the semi-finals of the NAMM teen battle of the bands,” says Emily Pakulski. “Our audience is growing as we grow.”
Power Pirate recently released its first single “And We’re Off” on iTunes and other digital music stores. Since their formation two years ago, Power Pirate has found its place in the DC/MD/VA music scene through catchy melodies and complex instrumentation. Power Pirate’s sound combines hard rock with video game synths.
Power Pirate is a three-piece band from Washington, DC with Emily Pakulski (15, vocals & guitar), Michael Garate (17, keyboards), and Annika Monari (15, drums). The three attend DC-area high schools, Georgetown Prep and the International School.
The nationwide contest, sponsored by NAMM, the trade association of the international music products industry, is designed to encourage teen bands across the United States to demonstrate their musical talents and enjoy the many proven benefits of making music.
Power Pirate is included in the Online voting portion of the competition that began November 1, 2009, at www.schooljamusa.com. Everyone is encouraged to visit the site and vote for their favorite band. The top two bands in five designated regions that receive the most votes will be announced on Dec. 19, 2009, and will be invited to the live SchoolJam USA battle of the bands finals held at the NAMM Show on Saturday, January 16, 2010, in Anaheim, CA.
The SchoolJam USA Battle of the Bands helps highlight the best and most talented teens across the country, while supporting the bands’ school music education programs. The winning band will receive $750 toward new musical equipment and could win a trip to perform at the SchoolJam Germany live finals in Frankfurt, Germany, at the MusikMesse trade fair. The top band’s school music program will also receive $5,000 toward new musical equipment purchased at their local NAMM Member retailer of choice. The competition is sponsored with the help of MENC, the national association for music education; the Music Education National Conference; Music For All; the John Lennon Educational Bus; SchoolJam and InTune Monthly magazine.
Biography:
Power Pirate is a three-piece electronic rock band from Washington, DC formed in the fall of 2007 by Emily Pakulski (vocals & guitar), Michael Garate (keyboards), and Annika Monari (drums). The three met when Annika and Emily hosted an informal session to meet new musicians. Among them was Mike, who stayed with them with the goal of creating original music that fuses innovation and traditional musical theory.
The band is determined to employ a D.I.Y. (Do It Yourself) philosophy by recording and producing their music at home, which is available on iTunes, as well as doing all the graphic design, photography, promotion, and booking themselves. The members make a strong effort to spread their spirit of self-help to other artists.
Since their formation two years ago, Power Pirate has found its place in the DC/MD/VA music scene through catchy melodies and complex instrumentation. The group has played at popular local venues such as the Black Cat, the DC9 Nightclub, the Fort Reno summer concert series, the Santa Fe Cafe, and many more. Inspired by modern artists such as Muse, Infected Mushroom, and Daft Punk, this trio fuses 80s-styled techno synths with hard-rock drum beats and guitar riffs to create the new, uncategorized genre unique to Power Pirate.
About NAMM
NAMM is the not-for-profit association that unifies, leads and strengthens the international musical instruments and products industry. NAMM’s activities and programs are designed to promote music making to people of all ages. NAMM is comprised of approximately 9,000 Member companies. For more information about NAMM or the proven benefits of making music, interested parties can visit www.namm.org or call 800-767-NAMM (6266).
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For photos and interviews, please phone 202 445-1169
