Messaging Toward Unity: Moving a Progressive Agenda through Effective Storytelling
The Netroots and the progressive movement have never had a better opportunity to make inroads on a progressive policy agenda than we do in the next couple of years. But without a keen understanding of the stories and the language surrounding these fights, we will not be able to maximize the potential of the moment. Facts, figures and truths are only effective in social organizing when contextualized within compelling narratives that are packaged, disseminated at multiple levels in culture and repeated diligently. This session will look at instances where unified messages and compelling narratives have made the difference between success and failure.
ILYSE HOGUE is the Director of Political Advocacy and Communications for MoveOn.org. Ilyse oversees the paid and earned media program and ran messaging strategy through the 2008 election cycle. With the organization since 2006, she previously served as Campaign Director and continues to help oversee political strategy and manage relationships with national coalitions and lawmakers. Before joining MoveOn, Ilyse spent seven years as Program Director for the Rainforest Action Network, working to pressure Wall Street to institute environmental and social screens on lending and investment. Ilyse is a cofounder of smartMeme, a national strategy project that links narrative development with legislative and social change.
Faiz Shakir is the Research Director at the Center for American Progress and serves as Editor-in-Chief of ThinkProgress.org. He holds a BA in Government from Harvard University and a JD from the Georgetown Law Center. Faiz is co-author of Howard Dean’s Prescription for Real Healthcare Reform. He also authored a chapter entitled “Blogging the election” in The Change We Need: What Britain Can Learn from Obama’s Victory. Faiz has appeared on MSNBC, CNN, Fox News, and CNBC television, among other places, and has been a guest on many radio shows.
Tara Dawson McGuinness is the director of Progressive Media, a joint project of the Center for American Progress Action Fund and Media Matters Action Network. Tara has over 10 years of campaign and organizing experience in the US and internationally. Last year, Tara organized two independent campaign efforts Progressive Accountability and the Campaign to Defend America. From 2006-2008, Tara helped lead Americans Against Escalation in Iraq a field and media campaign focused on ending the war in Iraq. Tara has worked on communications efforts for house, senate and presidential campaigns and developed and conducted organizing training in Nepal, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Morocco and Ethiopia.
KARENFINNEY is an independent consultant working with political and corporate clients in the areas of political and communication strategy, media training, crisis communications, branding, and public affairs. Karen is also a contributor to MSNBC, CNN, Politico and Huffington Post. Karen has worked in national politics and campaigns for more than 16 years, also in the public and private sectors where she worked to improve public education and led corporate branding and business development for one of America’s leading children’s media companies. Most recently Karen served as the Spokeswoman and Director of Communications at the Democratic National Committee during Howard Dean’s tenure as Chairman.
