How to use this template media release for your Marriage Equality activities on Valentine’s Day!

How to use this template media release for your Marriage Equality activities on Valentine’s Day!

Local media is a great way to promote Marriage Equality as an issue as we support a push for a vote in Parliament this year.

You can use this template to develop your own media release, to send to papers, radio and TV outlets in your area. Valentine’s Day is a great moment to speak up for love and fairness. You could promote an action group event, or simply put out a release with your action group’s message for your local community.

All you need to do is:

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  Make a copy of this template.
  
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  Go through the release and change the specific information to match your story, according to the directions provided below: the action group name, event details, spokesperson quotes and names, and the media contact person’s details.
  
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  Send your completed media release to our Activist Media organiser [e-mail], or the community organiser in your region, to ensure it’s on message and ready to send out. You can also ask for help with local media contacts, and tips to pitch your story to a journalist or how to do an interview.
  

Like many human rights campaigns, our call for Marriage Equality affects people subject to the discrimination most - in this case people who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex. If any LGBTQI activists would like to be spokesperson for your media release and share their story, this is a powerful way to bring the reality of this human rights issue home. If you don’t identify as LGBTQI yourself, remember that we don’t speak for people affected by human rights violations, we stand with them. Keep this in mind as you write your media release. You may want to share a personal experience, for example how you feel about the fact that a family member, friend or colleague you know is currently excluded.

If you have any questions, feel free to email [e-mail] , or talk to your community organiser.

Happy writing!


[Townsville Amnesty International action group]

Media Release

14 February 2017

Local Amnesty volunteers support marriage equality on Valentine’s Day
Amnesty volunteers in [Townsville] are calling on elected representatives to speak up for love and fairness this Valentine’s Day.
Townsville locals are supporting Amnesty International Australia as part of the Equality campaign, a diverse community of Australians working together to achieve marriage equality through a parliamentary vote. The campaign brings together families, couples, friends, people young and old from all over Australia.
“It’s Valentine’s Day, the perfect time of year to speak up for love and fairness. Choosing to marry the person you love is a human right, and an important way many of us choose to show our commitment. Over two thirds of Australians think marriage should be equal, and it’s time our elected representatives speak up for love and fairness and support a parliamentary vote,” [Peter Smith, convenor of the Townsville Amnesty group said.]
“This is about the people in our lives, we all know someone in our family, a friend, a neighbour or a workmate who is currently unable to marry the person the love,” [Mr Smith continued.]
The Senate is running an inquiry into an amendment bill that would allow for marriage equality. The inquiry has set the scene for members of federal parliament to speak up for fairness. Elected representatives can choose a vote in parliament, and vote yes for marriage equality.
“We are encouraging everyone in the [Townsville region] to let our political representatives know it’s time we make marriage equality happen. You can find our petition calling for Marriage Equality on the Amnesty International Australia website. Or you can join our Amnesty group stall on Valentine’s Day, and send a ‘letter of love’ to your representative, explaining why you want them to stand up for a vote on marriage equality and to vote Yes,” [Mr Smith concluded.]
[Note: You do not need to put out a media release about a specific event. Simply delete this section, and make sure your quotes are encouraging the community to support Marriage Equality through an online petition for example.]
[What: Amnesty International Townsville group stall

When: 12:00pm - 2:00pm, Tuesday 14 February

Where: Town Mall, Townsville

What: Write your Letter of Love or sign the petition to help make Marriage Equality happen

More information: See our facebook event: www.facebok.com/event1234567]
/ends.

[Media Contact: NAME

Mobile: NUMBER

Email: EMAIL]

Amnesty International is a worldwide movement of people campaigning to protect human rights. We have a vision of a world in which every person enjoys all of the rights stated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards.

[The Townsville Amnesty action group has supported human rights for XX years. The group meets every month at LOCATION, TIME, and all community members are welcome to attend.]

PHOTO: [Credit: photographer name]