Source: The Media Awareness Project of DrugSense
Pubdate: 5 Jan 1999
Dear Readers,
TV documentaries are an area of the news which we can not easily cover.
Thus it is appreciated when others make available outstanding news
features. The CBS 60 Minute segment, about 12 minutes long, is now on line
(go to the bottom of the page) in RealVideo format at:
http://www.legalize-usa.org/TOCs/video7.htm
I have also included, below, the DrugSense FOCUS Alert distributed
yesterday for those of you who may not be aware of our FOCUS Alert efforts.
FOCUS Alerts are designed to encourage readers to react to specific media
events - newspaper editorials, stories, and in this case an outstanding TV
segment. FOCUS Alerts are distributed by email when appropriate, but on the
average no more than one or two a week. You may sign up to receive FOCUS
Alerts at:
http://www.DrugSense.org/hurry.htm
Richard Lake
Senior Editor; MAPnews, MAPnews-Digest and DrugNews-Digest
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DrugSense FOCUS Alert #92 1/4/99
60 MINUTES Feature on Swiss Heroin Successes
NOTE: MAKE A COMMITTMENT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN 1999. A number of Media
Awareness Project (MAP) letter writing activists are making New Years
resolutions such as committing to writing at least one letter a week
responding to articles selected from the DrugSense Weekly newsletter, FOCUS
Alerts, or any of our other news services. If you are willing to make any
commitment even a letter a month please send us a note to that effect or post it to MAPTalk if you are subscribed.
If all of our letter writing volunteers wrote just one letter a month we would
generate over 30,000 letters in 1999. Since about 10% get published (see below
URLs to improve your odds) that would be 3,000 published letters and likely
have an advertising value over 3 MILLION DOLLARS!!
You CAN make a BIG difference
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Your assignment should you choose to accept it:
Sunday's 60 Minutes segment on the Swiss approach to heroin use was excellent!
Please send them a letter of acknowledgement and encourage further coverage.
(Sample Letter Below)
Happy New Year, people! Let's make '99 a year that the prohibitionists
will never forget :-)
Thanks for your effort and support.
WRITE A LETTER TODAY
It's not what others do it's what YOU do
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PLEASE SEND US A COPY OF YOUR LETTER OR TELL US WHAT YOU DID ( Letter,
Phone, fax etc.)
Please post a copy your letter or report your action to the MAPTalk list if
you
are subscribed, or by E-mailing a copy directly to Your
letter will then be forwarded to the list with so others can learn from your
efforts and be motivated to follow suit
This is VERY IMPORTANT as it is the only way we have of gauging our impact and
effectiveness.
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CONTACT INFO
60 Minutes
Don Hewitt, Executive Producer
CBS-TV
524 West 57th Street
New York
NY 10019-2985
212-975-2006 PHONE
212 975 2019 FAX
E-Mail:
**************************************************************************
The CBS news program 60 Minutes had an outstanding report
on the Swiss heroin maintenance program earlier this
evening. You can view a preview video clip on the CBS web
site at http://www.cbs.com -- click on the "news" menu
button at the top of the page, then on the "programs" menu
button at the top of the page, then the "60 Minutes" button
at the side of the page, and you'll be at the 60 Minutes
section of the site. Scroll down to the third report, and
click on the preview to view the first half minute or so of
the show. To send 60 Minutes positive feedback, follow the
"feedback" link, or mail your comments to: 60 Minutes, 524
West 57th St., New York, New York 10019, or call (212) 975-
3247. The drug warriors will likely be doing the same, so
it's important that our side makes its voices heard. To
order a transcript, call (800) 777-TEXT, or to order a
videotape, call (800) 848-3256.
NOTE: Thanks to DRCNet for the text above
----------------------------------------------
ADDITIONAL INFO to help you in your letter writing efforts
3 Tips for Letter Writers http://www.mapinc.org/3tips.htm
Letter Writers Style Guide http://www.mapinc.org/style.htm
*****************************************************************
SAMPLE LETTER (SENT)
Dear 60 Minutes:
Your outstanding piece on the Swiss approach to heroin use deserves much
praise
and accolades. It is heartening indeed to see a show with the stature and
reputation of 60 Minutes finally beginning to address and acknowledge some
sensible alternatives to the ruinous wasteful and ineffective policies of
incarceration, prohibition, and interdiction that the U.S. has foolishly
adopted over the last few decades.
Please continue to research and report on the topic of drug policies in
general. To aid you in any future segments might I offer the information
resources in the web sites below. DrugSense offers a wide array of accurate
information on drug policy including a searchable archive of over 15,000 news
articles specifically on drug policy matters. We also offer a terrific listing
of drug war facts and much more.
You might even consider doing a segment on the DrugSense organization. We are
having a significant impact in educating the media and the public using our
worldwide network of "NewsHawks," editors, and a talented and active
membership that engage in letter writing and other educational activities.
Thanks again for the great segment. Keep up the GREAT work!
Mark Greer
Executive Director
DrugSense
PO Box 651
Porterville,
CA 93258
(800) 266 ********************* Just DO It!! **********************************
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake