Report of the Media Working Group

THE MEDIA WORKING GROUP was formed based on the identified needs to raise the profile of the Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds (SCSCB) and provide a mechanism by which the Executive might be provided with a public voice via the media. Furthermore, there was a desire to train interested members as well as local partners and collaborating organizations in media skills.

At the meeting, participants were provided with a review of recent media activities from their organizations and shared experiences, and were also provided with copies of two published resources, namely “How to Write a Press Release” (from United States Fish and Wildlife Service) and a handout from the BirdLife Caribbean Program Media Training Workshop. The participants drafted a first paragraph of a possible post-conference media release by way of a practice exercise in press release writing. They reviewed one option to deal with negative media attention by discussing, “How to Write a Letter to the Editor,” based on a handout. Participants were encouraged to contact the Chair of the Working Group for support should assistance be needed for media activities about birds and the Society. Participants also discussed two BirdLife Jamaica releases from the 2007 Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival.