Hello and Happy New Year!
Welcome to GMT's first monthly e-newsletter for 2010. We send this e-newsletter on the first Monday of every month to share feature announcements, membership tips, links to recent articles from environmental reporters, new members, and other helpful resources.
Word Count: 1,688
Read Time: 7 minutes
In this issue you will find:
1. Member Connections
2. Be in the Know – How GMT Tools Can Help Your Group
3. Buzz from the Beat
4. Link(s) of the Month
5. Community Coverage
6. GMT Welcomes 5 New Members
7. Support: Database Do’s and Don’ts
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1. Member Connections: True Spin Conference Success, Sharpen your Social Media Strategy with our Skills Training on February 11th
We had the pleasure to meet several of you at the True Spin Conference in Denver on January 21st and 22nd, and want to thank you for helping to make the conference a great success. Marty Kearns, GMT’s Executive Director, gave a presentation on The Power of Advocacy Networks and shared some insights on a panel for Real-Life Success with Twitter.
Read a few highlights from Marty’s presentation and advice from columnist and blogger David Sirota in our Discussion Forum at http://members.greenmediatoolshed.org/community/discussion
David's weekly column is based at the Denver Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Portland Oregonian and Seattle Times. He blogs at OpenLeft.com, is currently working on his third book, and is the morning drive-time host on KKZN-AM760 in Colorado.
We welcome you to add comments, pictures, and additional input with the “add new comment” link in each post.
Coming February 11th… … Better, Faster, Stronger: How nonprofits can better engage their members and the press through social media
In a world of tight budgets, nonprofits need to know now -- more than ever -- how best to serve and engage with the people supporting them. Social media tools offer a no-brainer part of any membership and fundraising strategy, but how can nonprofits optimize the resources they put into social media?
Attend our February Skills training to learn tips, tools, and strategies for success in the nonprofit realm of social networks, as well as how to use these tools to reach out to the media and reporters to get your message out there.
Join us for this online training on February 11th with Ashley Braun, News Producer at Grist Magazine. Ashley writes, Tweets, and Facebooks for Grist Magazine in Seattle, WA.
When: Thursday, February 11th, 2010
Time: 1:30 pm, Eastern Daylight Time / 10:30 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time
Registration Details at http://members.greenmediatoolshed.org/node/24236
**You must register online to get an attendee ID number. If you have trouble with these above steps, please call Nina at (202) 659-7710 x10 for assistance.
Hope to see you then!
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2. Be in the Know - How GMT Tools Can Help Your Group: More Targeted Media List Trainings from GMT
Nina Schwartz is holding another advanced training on media list building and distributions for GMT members on February 4th. The training will introduce features and strategies for building effective media lists that we don’t have time to cover in the intro GMT & Media Database Trainings. It will also cover best practices for distributing your press release so it has the best chance at reaching the outlet or contact without being stopped by SPAM filters.
Participants will take away knowledge of targeted list structures, the various features available in the media database for efficiently searching and pulling results, as well as a good knowledge of best practices for distributing their news.
Completions of the intro GMT & Media Database training is advised as a pre-requisite for this one-hour session.
Join us on February 4th, 2010
1:00 p.m. Eastern / 10:00 a.m. Pacific
Registration details are available in the Events Center at http://members.greenmediatoolshed.org/node/24198
For questions or help registering, please contact Nina Schwartz at (202) 659-7710 x10 or nina@greenmediatoolshed.org.
And… if you have not already read our Step by Step Twitter Guide and Press Room Audit, both released in the Fall of 2009, check them out at the following links:
The Step by Step Twitter Guide and a complete introduction is available in our Training Center at http://members.greenmediatoolshed.org/node/24095
The Press Room Audit is available in the Training Center at http://members.greenmediatoolshed.org/node/24106
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3. Buzz from the Beat: New Book on Secret History of Coal: Reckoning at Eagle Creek
Award-winning journalist Jeff Biggers recently released a new book that addresses the history of coal in the United States and uncovers the myths and truths of “clean coal.”
Reckoning at Eagle Creek: The Secret Legacy of Coal in the Heartland frames the history of this nation’s troubles with coal back to the policies of the Founding Fathers, and through major events that shaped our country in the last two centuries. Biggers also adds a personal perspective through his family’s experience with strip-mining on their southern Illinois home.
Watch the book trailer at www.jeffbiggers.com
View more links and commentary on the author’s Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jeff-Biggers-Reckoning-at-Eagle-Creek/277990564288
“Jeff Biggers exposes the truth about coal in America—how the myth of “clean coal” destroys even family histories. But Biggers is a long-time warrior in another fight—to stabilize climate and preserve a good life for young people. Let us hope his message about dirty coal is read far and wide.” ~James Hansen, NASA Goddard Center, author of Storms of My Grandchildren
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4. Link of the month: New online coral Reef Resource from Founders of Reef Relief
Craig and DeeVon Quirirlo, the founders of the Key West nonprofit Reef Relief, created a new online resource website that offers coral reef videos, latest science, grassroots strategies, educational information, and news on coral reefs. It includes 10,000 images of changing reef health in the Coral Survey Image Archive.
Visit www.reefrelieffounders.com to learn about coral reefs and how to protect them based on Craig and DeeVon’s 23 years of grassroots efforts.
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4. Newsroom Notes section: Rocky Mountain Region Environment Reporter
Rather than give you another newsroom update this month, I’d like to point your attention towards a reporter who covers a specific region - the Rocky Mountain region of Colorado - and tips for how you can pitch him.
Doug Schnitzspahn covers sports, recreation, and environmental issues relating to the Rocky Mountain region of Colorado at Elevation Outdoors. He will include news about local culture and music relevant to this region, as well as local businesses and the outdoor gear they provide.
For editorial stories, he would like to see “stuff that’s got a base or focus in the local community.” He welcomes news pitches up to one month prior to publication, general pitches at least three months in advance, and seasonal pitches at least seven months in advance.
Pitch him by e-mail at the following information. Attachments and follow-up calls are welcome.
Doug Schnitzspahn, editor in chief
Elevation Outdoors
(303) 905-8728
doug(at)elevationoutdoors.com
www.elevationoutdoors.com
Elevation Outdoors is published every other month and has a circulation of approximately 40,000.
Get more information on this new magazine as well as more media updates at Vocus' Daily Media Moves blog at http://www.vocus.com/invocus/movesarchives_invocus_com.html
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6. Let’s Welcome 5 New Members to our GMT Community
Green Business Networking was formed in 2005 when a small group of business leaders began meeting informally to discuss ways to work together to advance green, sustainability and wellness ideas and businesses. The group grew quickly, and now boasts participation from over 2,000 business leaders, entrepreneurs, consultants and evangelists in the Los Angeles area. Yet despite this growth, it strives to remain a place where doers can go to meet like-minded people in a relaxed atmosphere.
The Ohio Ecological Food & Farm Association is a grassroots coalition of food producers and consumers formed in 1979 to support and promote a healthful, ecological, accountable and permanent agriculture in Ohio and elsewhere.
The DC Project advances economic and environmental justice by creating clean energy career opportunities for people who need them most. In September 2009, they launched WeatherizeDC, which is the nation’s most robust community engagement program around home efficiency, proving that it's really possible to create good green jobs. WeatherizeDC is weatherizing 200 homes by March, which in turn will generate up to seven good green jobs, save homeowners up to 30% on their energy bills and offset 3,645 metric tons of carbon.
Biofuelwatch is a volunteer-led campaign against industrial bioenergy which receives no commercial or government funding.
Climate SOS is a new and expanding network of individuals and organizations concerned with ensuring that U.S. climate legislation effectively rises to the challenges we face from global warming.
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7. Media Database Q & A: Master List of Beat Codes Now Available in Support Center
GMT members benefit from a very comprehensive list of beat codes (labeled as “subjects”) in the media database, which enables you to search for reporters using the full variety of news topics covered by outlets.
Since this list is comprehensive - and therefore quite long - we added a master list spreadsheet of all of the subjects in the support center. This spreadsheet will enable you to conveniently browse the list and read explanations of each term. The Subject Group as well as a description of the scope of the beat code is included.
The master list is available at http://members.greenmediatoolshed.org/node/24098
For questions, please contact Nina directly at (202) 659-7710 x10 or nina@greenmediatoolshed.org.
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View past e-newsletters in our monthly e-newsletter archive section of the GMT Training Center.
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