PART 4: RESPONDING - YOUR COURSE OF ACTION

Now that you have an understanding of what defamation in the media looks like, the next step is to figure out what to do about it. Each Monitor & Mobilize volunteer is responsible for his/her chosen media outlet, making it a priority to monitor every day.

STEP 1: CAPTURE THE ITEM

STEP 2: CONTACT YOUR REGIONAL MEDIA MANAGER

As soon as you come across something blatantly or potentially defamatory, e-mail or call your Regional Media Manager (RMM) with the basic information. This information includes: the media outlet, time/date, channel/station/program, contact information (if available), thoughts about the item and suggested course of action.

STEP 3: RESPOND

Our Monitor & Mobilize program gives you, the volunteer, an opportunity to do as much responding as you want. If you are unable, or do not wish to respond, let us know and we will work something out. The following are some courses of action you can take:

ALWAYS report to GLAAD:	Alert your RMM when defamatory or extremely positive articles or news reports are found.
Write a letter to a reporter:	When reporters do something people think is bad, they often hear from many people. When they do something right, they hardly hear from anyone. Positive feedback to professionals who cover our community in fair, accurate and inclusive ways is very important. Those who are consistent or work in predominately conservative outlets deserve special kudos; they are often fighting an uphill battle for responsible journalism and your support for their coverage will help ensure their continued success. Supporting and thanking professionals will encourage their continued sensitivity, as well as model appropriate coverage to professionals who are both ignorant of these issues and who are knowingly defamatory. (SEE APPENDIX 2 FOR EXAMPLE)
Make a phone call:	With the guidance of the RMM, you can have the first contact with a media professional. Building this relationship is important because it can help with future stories. Talk with your RMM about how to do this. (SEE APPENDIX 3 and 4 FOR SAMPLE SCRIPTS)
Write a letter to the editor:	Sometimes, the appropriate action will be to write a letter to the editor. This is a great opportunity to gain visibility and convey information about the LGBT community. Your RMM can help you compose this letter.
Pitch a story:	Once you have established a relationship with a reporter, you can gain further visibility by pitching LGBT stories. For example, Valentine's Day provides an opportunity to spotlight same-sex couples, and reporters often forget or omit this.

More Action

Another effective tool used to respond to extreme defamation is the Call To Action. Although not used the majority of the time, GLAAD' s Call To Action is our main way of getting information out quickly to a large number of people in a particular region so they can respond directly. The Regional Media Manager writes the Call To Action, and in order for something to appear, we must have the information within one week of the date of publication or air. That's why your timely input is so important.

We are very thankful to have you as a member of our volunteer team. At GLAAD, there is so much energy and commitment to this program, and we hope it's contagious. In part, because of GLAAD's work, we now read about LGBT people on the cover of national publications and see gay relationships on network television. We want to ensure this happens at the local and regional level, as well. Thank you for working with us to achieve that.