Jan 21-22, 2010
Denver, CO
True Spin 2010
History
True Spin Conference, 2010
About 125 public-interest communicators attended the third True Spin Conference in 2010.
They represented over 80 organizations from around the country, including: 9to5 National Association of Working Women, A+ Denver, AFT Washington, American Forum, Applied Research Center, Berkeley Media Studies Group, Blueprint NC, Care2, Colorado Community Health Network, Colorado Conservation Voters, Colorado Health Foundation, Communications Workers of America, Communication Health Care Association of the Dakotas, Community Media Workshop, Consumers Union of the US, Cook Inletkeeper, Dangerous Intersection (Website), Design Write Studios, Douglas Gould and Company, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Emily's List, Energy Outreach Colorado, Farm Aid Inc., Free Press, Free Speech TV, Full Court Press Communications, Greenbelt Alliance, Guttmacher Institute, Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania, International Planned Parenthood Federation, Ipas, Jobs With Justice, Jubilee USA Network, KCSDV, League of Conservation Voters, Mainstream Media Project, Media in the Public Interest, National Campaign to Restore Civil Rights, National Housing Institute/Shelterforce Magazine, North Carolina Community Health Center Association, Northern Plains Resource Council, Overbrook Foundation, PR for People and Planet, Progressive Technology Project, PRWRK, Public News Service, Refugees International, Rights Working Group, RL Stein Group, Robert Wood Johnson Fnd Local Funding Partnerships, Safer Alternatives for Enjoyable Recreation, Secure World Foundation, Service Employees International Union, Service Employees International Union District 1199, Social Service Employees Union Local 371 AFSCME, The Hunger Project, The Opportunity Agenda, The Public Interest Network, The Stanley Foundation, The Wilderness Society, Thomas Hunt and Associates Strategic Communications, U.S. Department of State, Underground Advertising, University of Colorado at Denver, Virginia Organizing Project, and Women's Media Center.
Keynote Faculty in 2010
Andy Goodman of the Goodman Center
Holly Minch of HollyMinch.com
Rashad Robinson of GLAAD.
Other Speakers
Jed Alpert of Mobile Commons
Karl Frisch of Media Matters for America
Henry Griggs, Co-Author, Strategic Communications for Nonprofits
Dean Hollander of Fenton Communications
Michael Huttner of ProgressNow
Martin Kearns of Green Media Toolshed
Heather Mansfield of Diosa Communications
Holly Minch of HollyMinch.com
Wendy Norris of Western Citizen
Rashad Robinson of GLAAD
Karlos Gauna Schmieder of the Center for Media Justice
David Sirota, Author
Reverand Billy Talen, Pastor of the Church Of Life After Shopping
(And others)
Workshops 2010
Real Life Success with Facebook, Twitter, and Cell Phones
Pop Media Culture and Progressive Advocacy
Uncommon Solutions to Common Communications Challenges
Storytelling: the First Big Thing
How to Leverage Media Coverage: Get More Bang out of the Stories You Generate
Creative Media Tactics for the New Media World
How to Work with Progressive Bloggers
Pitching the Disappearing Mainstream Media
How to Measure the Effectiveness of Your Social Media Efforts
Evaluating Communications in the Nonprofit World
The Power of Advocacy Networks
Framing and Messaging as an Organizing Tool
How to Pitch a Pundit
Crisis Communications
Accessing Audiences through Partnerships
Lessons from the Right’s Attack on ACORN
How to Combat Astroturf Campaigns
How Does the Right Wing Kick our Ass?
How to Create Media-Friendly Imagery
(and others)
True Spin Conference, 2008
About 225 people attended the second True Spin Conference, held Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, 2008, in Denver, CO.
Progressive communicators attended the conference from around the country, including representatives from: Alaska Conservation Alliance, American Humanist Association, American Rights at Work, Artserve Michigan, Bread for the World, Campaign for Commercial-Free Childhood, Center for Constitutional Rights, Center for Rural Affairs, Chelsea Green Publishing, Children’s Defense Fund – California, Colorado Common Cause, Colorado Trust, Consumers Union, Drug Policy Alliance, Earthjustice, Economic Opportunity Institute, Free Press, Free Speech TV, Gill Foundation, Global Response, Good Food Strategies, Guttmacher Institute, Health Foundation of South Florida, Hershey Cause, International Planned Parenthood Federation, Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, Liberty Hill Foundation, Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, Media Consortium, Media Education Foundation, Montana Conservation Voters, National Council of La Raza, National Immigration Law Center, National Priorities Project, Natural Resources Defense Council, North Star Fund, Northern Plains Resource Council, Oceana, Oil Change International, Oregon Center for Public Policy, Piton Foundation, Population Action International, PR for People and the Planet, Progress Now, Progressive Future, Progressive States Network, Progressive Technology Project, Pro-Media, Public News Service, Represent Agency, RL Stein Group, Ruckus Society, Southern California Watershed Alliance, The Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts, The Schott Foundation for Public Education, Tree People, Valerie Denney Communications, Western Conservation Foundation, Wild Lands CPR, Youth Media Council, Youth Rights Media, and others.
Keynote Faculty in 2008
Lori Dorfman of Berkeley Media Studies Group
Alan Jenkins of The Opportunity Agenda
David Sirota, Author of Hostile Takeover
Other Speakers
John Amos of SkyTruth
Medea Benjamin of Code Pink
Andy Bichlbaum of Yes Men!
Kathy Bonk, Author of Strategic Communications for Nonprofits
Thom Clark of Community Media Workshop
Beach Codevilla of Spitfire Strategies
Rebecca Farmer and Cole Kravitz of the SPIN Project
Martin Kearns of Green Media Toolshed
John Kelly of Morningside Analytics
Robert Perez of Fenton Communications
Rashad Robinson of GLAAD and
(And others)
Workshops 2008
How to Deal with EDs Who Just Don’t Get it
YouTube: Show and Tell
Smart Chart Communications Planning
Be like GLAAD
What could You Do with 10,000 People for 10 Minutes?
PR and the State Legislature
Demystifying the Interactive Web
Theatrical Protest: A Case Study in Pink
Ask Dr. Media
How to Collaborate with the Netroots and Bloggers
10 Tips for Setting Your Organization or Cause Apart
How to Pitch Conservative Journalists
How to Work with Communications Consultants
Coalition Communications
PR for Progressive Political Campaigns
Framing it Large: If a Picture is Worth a Thousand Words, How Much for a Giant Puppet?
How to be a more Creative Flack/Activist
Parsing the Political Blogosphere
Case Studies on Reframing the Difficult Issues for Policy Change
Are Progressives Out of Touch?
How to Work with Hollywood
(and others)
2008 Conference Photos
To see or buy photos of the 2008 conference, visit www.aphelios.org and click on the Search Archive link. Once in the archive, click the True Spin Conference link on the right.
2008 Conference Audio Recordings
To buy audio recordings of the workshops, click here.
True Spin Conference, 2006
The first True Spin Conference, held in 2006, sold out.
It attracted 200 registrants from around the country, including PR people from all types of progressive organizations including the ACLU, American Friends Service Community, American Indian College Fund, American Federation of Teachers, Breast Cancer Fund, Center for Community Change, Century Foundation, Community Media Workshop, Drug Policy Alliance, Economic Policy Institute, Forest Ethics, Free Press, Free Speech TV, Gill Foundation, Iowans for Sensible Priorities, Izaak Walton League, League of Young Voters, Marijuana Policy Project, Metro Organizations for People, Presbyterian Church, Progress Now, PR Watch, Rainforest Action Network, SEIU, Spin Project, Trout Unlimited, U.S. PIRG, Vanguard Communications, WAND, White House Project, Working Assets, and many more.
Keynote faculty in 2006
Ben Cohen of Ben and Jerry’s
Kathy Bonk of the Communications Consortium Media Center
Marty Kearns of Green Media Toolshed
Lisa Witter of Fenton Communications.
Other speakers
David Barsamian of Alternative Radio
Andrew Boyd of Billionaires for Bush
Lark Corbeil of the Public News Service
Valerie Denney of Valerie Denney Communications
Lori Dorfman of the Berkeley Media Studies Group
Heather Holdridge of Care 2
Lisa Lange of PETA
Greg Nelson of CTSG
Holly Minch of Spitfire Communications
Brian Smith of Earthjustice
Bill Walker of the Environmental Working Group, and others.
Workshops
Network-Centric Advocacy
Do Progressives Suck at PR?
Journalists turned Flacks
Using Web Tools to Megaphone and Hone your Message
Be like PETA!
Pranks with a Purpose: A Report from the Front Lines of the New Creative Activism
Loud and Clear in an Election Year: 501(c)3s and Elections
Can Progressives Unite Under one Frame?
Make Your Advertisements Newsworthy
How to Publicize a Report
Strategic Communications: We Know More than We Do
The News Value of Culture Jamming
Spokesperson Skills
Stop Being a Bore: How to Create Newsworthy Visuals
(and others)
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