1. Speak out at forums and teach-ins

This means getting networked. Check the local entertainment weeklies, the local activist email lists, university groups, and public bulletin boards to find out when public events are happening. Depending on your comfort level, you can attend as part of an audience and speak out during open-mike or audience-comment periods, or you can push to get onto actual panels and speaker lists. Military families and veterans are often welcomed with open arms to these events.

The key thing is to show up. Bring flyers about the Bring Them Home Now campaign with local contact information included. We can assist in the preparation of oral or written material if we have enough lead time.

You can also organize these events. Do not re-invent the wheel if you don't have to. Contact a sympathetic activist group who has done this kind of thing before and solicit their assistance in coordination and planning.
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This is an extremely effective action, especially if there is an organized effort to get multiple letters placed. The letters section is the most read section of any newspaper, and politicians watch letters to the editor obsessively. Here's advice on writing 'letters to the editor' from FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting):

1. Make one point (or at most two) in your letter or fax. State the point clearly, ideally in the first sentence.
   
   
2. Make your letter timely. If you are not addressing a specific article, editorial or letter that recently appeared in the paper you are writing to, then try to tie the issue you want to write about to a recent event.
   
   
3. Familiarize yourself with the coverage and editorial position of the paper to which you are writing. Refute or support specific statements, address relevant facts that are ignored, but do avoid blanket attacks on the media in general or the newspaper in particular.
   
   
4. Check the letter specifications of the newspaper to which you are writing. Length and format requirements vary from paper to paper. (Generally, roughly two short paragraphs are ideal.) You also must include your name, signature, address and phone number.
   
   
5. Look at the letters that appear in your paper. Is a certain type of letter usually printed?
   
   
6. Support your facts. If the topic you address is controversial, consider sending documentation along with your letter. But don't overload the editors with too much info.
   
   
7. Keep your letter brief. Type it whenever possible.
   
   
8. Find others to write letters when possible. This will show that other individuals in the community are concerned about the issue. If your letter doesn't get published, perhaps someone else's on the same topic will.
   
   
9. Keep the letter to 250 words or less.

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3. Seek opportunities to speak with the media

There are three keys to working with the media. (1) Build relationships. (2) Build a database. (3) Give them a story.

The media are not disembodied abstractions. They are people with names and addresses. Arranging visits with specific reporters and with editorial boards will double your chances of getting your material placed in the future. Nothing substitutes for relations between real people with faces and handshakes. These meetings are an opportunity to hand over the research and evidence that supports your case. Editors and writers are far more likely to review your arguments if they receive your material in person. A very good set of how-to instructions for meeting editors and writers is here.

Contacting media is part of almost every other organized action. So it is something you are likely to do a lot. And the way to ensure SOME coverage is to ensure that ALL media in the area are notified. This means a database with all contact information (including fax numbers!) for your local media and national wire services (who often have a local representative). It only takes an hour or so to put this together in a database, which will become a key piece of your organizing infrastructure. Make sure that you continue to collect names and contact information as your media coverage grows.

Reporters are looking for something different and dramatic, for real people with real stories, and for a local angle. TV reporters are, in addition, looking for a visual. A couple of good how-to sites for media events can be found here and here. A good primer on what makes a good news story is here.
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For advice and assistance on any of these actions, contact BRING THEM HOME NOW!