FYI RE: [NLA] How to Work Effectively with the Media

[KathleenBombach@aol.com]

Andrea:
The Toyota ads are popping up everywhere in Newsweek, Time, People, and other 
mass circulation magazines. I bet Toyota is spending more on the ad campaign 
than it is spending on family literacy.

Last night on a show my children watch, "Just Shoot Me" (I hate the title), 
the lead character, Maia, becomes enraged because the reading foundation she 
volunteers many hours for gave their 'humanitarian of the year' award to her 
father, who doesn't  even know the name and purpose of the foundation. Her 
father has written a check to the foundation to get Maia off his back, 
because he doesn't want to give the time and work his daughter and other 
volunteers give.

I got the point--but then a check for $50,000 for reading would be nice, too! 
So what do you all think about corporations that 'use' literacy in this way? 
If a company gives $150,000 a year to a cause and places $5,000,000 a year in 
advertisements extolling their contribution (a made up example), how do you 
think we should work with that company?

I know people who think that Texas' First Lady $10,000 grants (Laura Bush) 
for family literacy were just a political tool because so little money went 
out to literacy and school organizations while Bush the Younger reaped lots 
of good will and straight news placements out of it. But now that George and 
Laura are in office, they have pushed for funding for early reading programs 
($975 million). But then again, Bush wanted cutbacks in many other education 
programs, technology, drug prevention, etc., perhaps to get the money to fund 
early reading. 

There has been a major controversy over tobacco company funding awards. Here, 
our non-profit health funder doesn't fund any entity that also receives 
tobacco company funds. If we in literacy could get millions of dollars from 
the tobacco companies, would we do it?

just some musings...
Kathleen Bombach
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