Keghart.com’s Proposed Media Guidelines
Dear compatriots,
As the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide approaches, we, the
editors of Keghart.com, have produced guidelines for our global
Armenian community to consult as we all prepare to contact the press
to garner media coverage for the occasion.
These guidelines appear beneath our signatures in the form of two
Keghart editorials.
We authorize the free reproduction of these editorials for you to
publish in your church newsletters, blogs, Facebook pages or other
avenues you may use to reach your parishioners.
Over the years, we have been fortunate to have so many talented and
articulate Armenians effectively contacting the press. Even so, all of
us can use a refresher now and then. As such, we hope you will find
these tips to be useful as we all prepare to put our best feet forward
for our centennial and our martyrs.
Thank you for your consideration. Should you have any questions,
please reply to Keghart at [email protected] (NOT to
[email protected]).
The texts follow.
Angeghdzoren,
Jirair Tutunjian, Minas Kojayan & Dikran Abrahamian
Keghart Editors
December 2014
Part I
“Letter to the Editor”
Editorial, 16 April 2014
In a week or so we will gather for the 99th time to mourn and honor
our martyrs and to condemn the criminal empire’s descendant state
which denies the crime. And on April 25th we begin our preparations
for the monumental 100th commemoration of Turkey’s failed conspiracy
to wipe us from the face of the Earth.
As Turkey and its Diaspora, especially in Europe and in North America,
gear up to do battle with the Armenians because of the upcoming
centennial of the Genocide, the world can expect Turkey-originated
books, symposia, panel discussions, meetings with government heads,
“familiarization” trips for politicians and media, promotional stunts,
etc. to deny the undeniable.
Among themselves, Armenians will, of course, condemn the vast crevasse
between the historic truth and its stilted Turkish version. Other
Armenians will take umbrage at the bare-faced Ankara lies and hit
their computers to write rebuttals to the cynical Turkish tales.
But before responding, via the mass media, to Ankara fabrications,
Armenian letter-writers should consider the below tips on how to write
a “letter to the editor”, which would stand a chance of being
published or posted.
1. Make it snappy. Don’t go over 200 words. Sound cool, collected, and
well-informed. Make the editor’s job easy by writing a crisp and
intelligent letter. He or she would be grateful to you and be more
inclined to publish your letter.
2. Don’t sound angry, bitter or sarcastic.
3. Don’t make negative personal comments about the Turkish source or
the writer of the article.
4. Don’t condemn the mass media for publishing the Turkish fabrication.
5. Stick to the point. Address what you find deplorable and false in
the report, column or op-ed. Contradict the Turkish version with easy
to grasp facts. This should not be difficult since the truth is on the
side of the Armenians and there is a ton of accessible documentation
backing the Armenian narrative.
6. Don’t sound overwrought or short-tempered.
7. Don’t assume everyone knows about the Genocide and the conflict
between the Armenians and Turkey.
8. Cite non-Armenian sources when you want to establish the veracity
of your facts and arguments.
9. The sources you quote should be well-known, respected,
authoritative, and credible.
10. Anticipate the Turkish lobby’s reply to your letter and pre-empt it.
11. Eliminate–as much as possible–adjectives and adverbs from your
letter. Don’t use exclamation marks to stress your point.
12. Stay away from words which are emotional…butcher, blood-thirsty,
sheer brutality, bloody Sultan, etc.
13. Don’t try to play with the heart strings of the editor or the
reader. Let the facts speak for themselves.
14. Criticize Turkey, Ankara, and the Turkish diaspora lobby; don’t
criticize Turks.
15. Don’t present the conflict as one between Christian Armenians and
Moslem Turks.
16. Include, as briefly as possible, your relations’ experiences
during the First World War. Editors and readers often respond
sympathetically to first-hand experiences.
17. Mention the David (Armenia and the Armenian Diaspora) and Goliath
(Turkey) nature of the conflict. Present the multi-million dollar
Turkish propaganda campaign versus the limited resources of the
Armenians.
18. If you live in a country which recognizes the Genocide or (as in
the United States and Canada) there are states/provinces which
recognize the Genocide, mention that fact. Readers would be more
inclined to recognize the Genocide if they learn that their government
does so.
19. Don’t inject the Azerbaijan conflict into your letter: it could
confuse readers who are not familiar with the political conflicts in
southern Caucasus and in Asia Minor.
20. Remember you are writing to non-Armenian readers. Your letter is
not intended to impress your Armenian friends.
21. Rather than sending a comment to the media outlets’ website, write
to the editor of the publication. The former is often a hothouse of
disinformation, inappropriate language, intolerance, hate and anger by
trolls. They have negligible impact on public opinion.
22. Make sure your letter is devoid of grammatical mistakes. A
grammatically accurate letter will reflect well on you, your facts and
your ideas.
23. Even if you have never written a ‘letter to the editor’, do write
in this crucial year. One published letter can counteract thousands of
dollars worth of Turkish falsehood and propaganda.
24. Whether your letter is published or not, a few days after mailing
it, cc Armenian media and organizations thus sharing your effort and
facts with as many Armenians as possible.
Part II
“Informing, Influencing ‘Odar’ Media”
Editorial, 30 April 2014
In early April Armenians living in cities where they have activist
communities held demonstrations to protest Turkish complicity in the
attack on the mostly-Armenian town of Kessab in northern Syria.
Such a demonstration was held also in Toronto on April 3. More than
three-hundred Armenians–almost half of them under 30–converged on the
downtown address of the Turkish Consulate to condemn Turkey.
The Armenian Youth Federation (AYF), which organized the rally,
deserves our congratulations for a job well done.
Carrying Canadian and Armenian flags, the passionate but disciplined
crowd delivered a simple and strong message: Turkey should stop
facilitating attacks by extremist foreign fighters on Kessab and in
other parts of Syria. Despite provocation by a small group of Grey
Wolves counter-demonstrators, Armenians remained on message. A woman
from the Grey Wolves danced in glee to draw the Armenians into a
confrontation, but failed to do so. Armenians did not approach the
security cordon, which separated them from the Turkbeijan agent
provocateurs.
The AYF had informed local media of the rally, but there was almost no
media presence and none from the city’s highly competitive six
dailies.
Why not? Why the apparent indifference to the plight of 6,000
Syrian-Armenians by Toronto’s media? Several demonstration attendees
muttered that the media are not interested, unless there is the
potential of violence. Overstated, but with some truth. There could be
a dozen reasons why reporters were not there, none of them the fault
of the AYF. Getting coverage for protest rallies are among the most
difficult, perhaps because such demonstrations often question the
status quo which the establishment media and business like to
maintain. As well, some news stories–no matter how well pitched–are
not covered because editors might believe they run counter to the
nation’s foreign policy objectives. Armenia’s foreign policy runs
counter to NATO’s wishes and mainstream media are hostile to Syria’s
Bashar Assad. Much of the Western mainstream media give a pass to the
extremists fighting Assad, hoping the former would bring down Syria’s
leader.
A major aim in why we will commemorate the centenary of the Genocide
next year is to draw the world’s attention to Turkey’s crime and
denial. To do so, we need positive media coverage. If we don’t rouse
the interest of the media, we will have failed.
How do we get the media’s attention for the tragedy that was
perpetrated upon the Armenian nation one-hundred years ago? It’s a
tough assignment.
Newspapers are mostly about news or something new. In the city room,
last week’s news is as dead as a doornail.
Here are some tips which should help attract media interest to the
century-old tragedy:
Personalize the Genocide. Find the children of survivors who can tell
the story of their parents and relatives in a few but powerful words.
Approach media outlets in the area where the person you want to
profile resides and drive the local angle.
Find a link between the Genocide and the community you live in. For
example, talk about non-Armenian citizens who spoke about the Genocide
at the time and perhaps helped Armenians. Honor these friends of
Armenians.
In the months prior to April 24, 2015 invite media, particularly
neighborhood publications, to events you are organizing. Unlike
previous years, the whole year is open to coverage.
Try to inject something current in your articles and releases.
The cliché doesn’t exaggerate: a picture is worth a thousand words.
Lend media some of the graphic Genocide images. Send photos whose
authenticity can’t be challenged. Don’t send, for example, fictional
photos such as the line of crucified Armenians from the “Ravished
Armenia” silent movie or the famous painting of the molehill of
supposedly Armenian skulls.
Don’t assume journalists know about the Genocide. With the decline of
mainstream media, many journalists know far less about international
politics than their predecessors. Armenian information officers should
spoon-feed the media the facts of the Genocide and Ankara’s denialist
stand. Provide unimpeachable sources–in print or on the Web.
The focus should be on the government of Turkey, not Turks. Don’t
mislead by making the Genocide a story about religious differences…In
these days of extreme religious sensitivities and obsession with
political correctness, the Christian/Muslim narrative would not only
present an incomplete picture but also be a self-defeating exercise.
Armenians telling the story of the Genocide should recognize righteous
Turks who helped Armenians or contemporary Turks (Ragip Zarakolu,
Fethiye Çetin, Orhan Pamuk, Taner Akcam, et al) who speak on behalf of
Armenians.
The campaign to inform the media should start long before April 24,
2015. Folders containing a variety of news releases and photos (or
compiled electronically) should be sent to the media. The news
releases would be about Armenians; their history; celebrated
Armenians; the millennial homeland now occupied by Turkey; the
Genocide; the slaying of Armenian writers and priests; the acts and
words of the murderous Young Turk triumvirate; the brazen denialist
policy of Turkey; the declarations of the International Association of
Genocide Scholars; quotes by famous (non-Armenian) people about the
Genocide… They should not be longer than 300 words.
Put the Genocide in universal context. Point out that it was the
precursor of the Holocaust… Include the famous Hitler quote. Mention
other modern genocides. Point out that the Genocide is also relevant
because it’s causing instability in the Southern Caucasus.
Have a designated person/committee as the source for centennial information.
The news releases should stick to the facts and avoid
emotive/sensational words. Use adjectives and adverbs sparingly. They
should be grammatically correct and succinct: short sentences, short
paragraphs.
Don’t write a sob story. Let the facts tell the story.
Anticipate the editors’ resistance that “it’s an old story” and
pre-empt it with sharply-written and eye-catching headlines, text and
photos. Make sure the first sentence of the piece, called ‘lede’ in
journalese, ‘hooks’ the reader.
When writing about the tragedy, remember that readers need to see a
shape to the story, a completion, something hopeful to look forward
to. Tell readers what Armenians have done and are doing to force
Turkey to come clean. Speak of how refugee communities rose from the
ashes to not only survive the tragedy, but to go on to thrive all over
the world as good citizens in the countries that accepted them. Praise
these countries for their hospitality.
With your help, 2015 should be an interesting year for the Armenian nation.
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