350 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
350 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
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_REACTIVE_RESPONSE_AND_PROACTIVE_ENCOUNTER_
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_Dealing_with_the_Media_
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This is a description of what WindFire Coven does to attract
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positive media coverage:
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During the latest period of Satanism hysteria the energies
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were flowing in a negative direction as far as Wicca is concerned.
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The media loves controversy and knows that to have controversy
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they must present more than one side of any given issue.
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Consequently when planning some report that may be negative in
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context they will go out of their way to present another view of
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that same issue.
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Reactive Response
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This, of course, is reactive not pro-active in nature. This is
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how WindFire got the media exposure the last two times. I'll start
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with the Denver channel first.
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It was a few weeks after File 18 was given to each member of
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WindFire that we dedicated a full moon ritual for magickal work
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toward a solution. WindFire is not structured so every member got
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to focus their power in their own way toward the solution. The
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solution was to promote a positive understanding of Wicca in the
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local mundane communities.
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The very next day, not 24 hours after the ritual, we got a
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call from channel 7, Denver. They were in the Springs and wanted
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to talk to some witches about ley lines and power spots. The two
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person crew was at Celebration Book Store but the attendant didn't
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want to be on. Fortunately the store attendant had our number and
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called us. We talked with the camera crew and arranged an
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immediate interview.
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Two considerations are important here. The first is that just
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like any other form of magickal work the magick takes it's own
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form. So be ready for anything. And two, when the media calls
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they usually will not wait around for interviewees. Be prepared
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for anything, at any moment. When the lightning strikes...
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Channel 7 told us that they were doing the interview to
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balance out some of the reporting on Satanism, but they didn't
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stress the fact that the report was about Satanism. Further we
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didn't know enough to ask what the focus and content was for the
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report. Always ask what the focus of the report is. You may find
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yourself, just like WindFire, shocked that we are being visually,
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if not verbally, associated with Satanism.
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For the interview, be positive. I can't stress that enough.
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Smile and let them see that you are sincere in your faith in the
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Goddess. Laugh. All the reporters see in Satanism is somber faces,
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confessing their sins. Let them know that you are happy with your
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path. Stress the difference between patriarchal monotheism and
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pre-Christian, pre-Hebrew Goddess religion. Have your resources
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ready for the reporter to look at if they need a quote for
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something. Trot out your tools and instruments if you feel
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comfortable with that. They love to see the various tools. You
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don't have to show them all or any of your tools but it sure helps
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them get a picture of what is going on.
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The media people like robes so wear your best. Covert groups
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that have fears about discovery of illegal activities will not don
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their robes or show their tools. By doing so you show that you are
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not aligned with covert, illegal, fearful groups. And by
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disassociation you show that you are doing nothing illegal or
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dangerous.
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There are three parts of the interview: the preview, the
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personal interviews and the ritual. In some or perhaps most cases,
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the ritual can be left out. [Please note that these terms are
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descriptive of their function, not their technical names. The
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reporters may have a different technical name for them.]
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The preview is a time for the reporter to get to know the
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members of the group, circle or coven. They will talk to you for a
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period of time. For WindFire that was about an hour for each
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camera crew. Please remember to be civil as a group and not blurt
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things out all at once. Believe me it's hard not to do that in the
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excitement. During the preview the reporter will select who they
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want to interview.
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Personal interviews last about 10 minutes. The reporter will
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generally select different questions for each interviewee. Be
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prepared for some hard and personal questions. At the end of the
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personal interview the reporter will sometimes ask if you have
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anything particular to say to the public. Please don't waste this
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opportunity. Have a personal message ready for the public.
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The ritual can be anything you feel comfortable with. We
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generally choose a related focus such as increasing understanding
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in the mundane public. The camera crews seem to like this. Be
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patient, they may want you to duplicate some particular action for
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different camera angle. Accommodate them when you can. We got
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through a partial ritual before the second camera crew ran out of
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tape. Don't forget to complete the ritual before them before you
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let them leave. Be complete.
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Remember that there are generally two people in a camera crew,
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the reporter and the camera operator. When the reporter is
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previewing the coven have another witch talk to the camera
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operator, telling them what the tools are for and what incenses
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and crystals are used. Be discrete but talk to each and every
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the camera person thinks you stink you may have visual problems
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later. Make sure each and every camera crew member goes away with
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a warm fuzzy feeling.
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Offer them refreshments. They will generally refuse alcohol
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but water, sodas, coffee and fruit juices are welcomed. Help the
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crew as much as they will let you. If they need cables or
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furniture moved, do so.
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Now for Channel 13 in Colorado Springs. This reporter was
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doing a report on Satanism alone. Unfortunately the ONLY resource
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she had was James McCarthy in Boulder. The reporter used the "S"
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word, the "W" word and the "P" word all in the same sentence
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without differentiating between the three. Admittedly the context
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of the sentence was ritual. Still no differentiation was made. We
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started a telephone campaign and had about 15 people call the
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newsroom at the station and complain.
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Here it is especially good to not bitch unless you have a
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solution. If you complain to a reporter do not leave them hanging
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with no way to clean up the mess. Talk to them, give them your
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phone number so they can call you back later. They are busy
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people. Try to make sure they can successfully reach you, not your
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children, not your message machine, not your dog. If you give them
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your number and they don't call you back, call them. Find out what
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the problem is.
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During the phone campaign we left the reporter numerous ways
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to contact us. She did and we scheduled a time for the
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interviews. We scheduled it for our regular weekly meeting time so
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that all the members could be there and a generic ritual could be
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filmed. Members who didn't want to be on film were situated so
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that their faces were not on camera. The camera crew will do this
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for you. They don't want to inadvertently expose unwilling and
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innocent people to possible harassment.
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On the appointed day the camera crew showed up fashionably
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late. We went through our usually horror story about being
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butchered by the media in the past and they (both crews) were
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sympathetic to our concerns. Don't be afraid to stress how badly
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the media has treated witches, but don't bore them; everyone has a
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story to tell but boredom is out these days.
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Let them see a generic ritual with a generic focus. The
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immediate focus was understanding in the local community. That
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works well so you might want to try that with your group or coven.
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It impresses the camera crew so that they will be a little more
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interested.
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Proactive Encounter
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Proactive means acting before something happens and puts you
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in reactive response mode.
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Perhaps the best thing to do is to put together a packet that
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you can send to your local media: Tv. stations, radio stations,
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and newspapers, which also include your local neighborhood
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weeklies if you're brave enough.
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Send a well put together packet to these medias and be sure
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they can get in touch with you on a few days notice. You might
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have more than one contact for your group, circle or coven.
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WindFire has three or four.
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I suggest for this packet that you include three or four brief
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statements from willing coven members, a longer essay on Wicca
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with resources, the New Woman article, some artwork and poetry.
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Include also a reading list of your favorite Wiccan authors. Be
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sure to include names and numbers to call back. While the
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reporters won't read everything they will probably read the brief
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statements from your coven members and look at the reading list.
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You might suggest book stores the reporters can find the reading
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list books at.
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The main time of the year for reactive procedures is
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Halloween. Funnymentalist just love to hammer us during Samhain.
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So be proactive and let the media know how you view Samhain. Send
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the media an article about Samhain about two weeks before. Let
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them know that there are other views and that the funnymentalist
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are slandering a perfectly good holiday.
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In fact you could emphasize any holiday/s that seems
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appropriate for your area or group. Include your resources and/or
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xerox copies of other articles you may find, with copyright if
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needed, on any holiday you deem appropriate.
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Reactive Response Summary
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Be prepared to act at any moment if they should call you. Be
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positive, smile and laugh a lot. Talk to all the camera crew
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members. Let them know your concerns, stress the problems of the
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past but don't offend the media people. Make it a magickal time
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for all the people involved including the camera crews. Remember
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to augment your mundane activity (interviews) before hand with
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magickal work.
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Proactive Encounter Summary
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Prepare a good information packet. Sound like you know what
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you are talking about. Don't be mousey. Be aggressive and call
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them if you feel the need. Make sure they can return a call to
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you successfully. If you get an interview be positive and firm.
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Media people are strong people, they like other strong people. Be
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prepared to act at any moment when they call you. Devote some
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personal and collective magickal time for magickal work to attract
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positive media attention.
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I'm sure that you will be challenged by the opportunities your
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magick will bring you. The Goddess will bring your efforts to
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full fruit if you are ready to support Her when the time comes.
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It's not an overused saying to state that we should be prepared
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for the effects of our own magick.
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AN UPDATE OF IMMEDIATE CONCERN
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Just before Halloween Channels 5/30 in Colorado Springs
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interviewed WindFire Coven in the pro-active mode. The reporter
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was concerned that her boss wanted a sensationalized segment on
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witches to go with segments on Satanism and various local New Age
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groups and psychics. She told us that she would try to talk her
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boss out of sensationalizing the segment. No guarantees were given
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and we accepted her word that she would try her best to represent
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us fairly. WindFire Coven was filmed for four or five hours for
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the 3 minute segment and some promotional footage.
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Some problems arose in the promotionals and broadcast that we
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didn't anticipate.
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In the promotionals various members were visually associated
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with Satanism by default, that is, Wiccans and Satanists were
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shown together in the same promo without distinction. This caused
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quite a lot of concern when clients and associates of those
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involved either refused to speak to the involved or blamed them
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for some unspecified hardship in their lives. To complicate the
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matter one members face was overdubbed with a hags cackling. This
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hurt the member greatly as she is nothing like the voice
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indicated.
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MAKE SURE THAT YOUR PROMO IS YOUR OWN WITH NO VISUAL
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ASSOCIATION TO ANY OTHER SEGMENT WITHOUT YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND
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PERMISSION. MAKE SURE THAT YOUR MEMBERS FACES AND VOICES REMAIN
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INTACT THROUGH THE PROMO AND BROADCAST. GET IT IN WRITING UNLESS
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YOU ARE WILLING TO SEE THIS HAPPEN TO YOUR COVEN. REFUSE THE
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INTERVIEW IF NECESSARY.
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During the broadcast and promos various tools, icons and
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artifacts, including a piece of copyrighted artwork, were used in
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others segments without our permission.
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MAKE SURE THAT YOUR TOOLS, ICONS, ARTIFACTS AND ARTWORK ARE
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NOT USED IN ANOTHER CONTEXT WITHOUT YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND PERMISSION.
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GET IT IN WRITING UNLESS YOU ARE WILLING TO SEE YOUR TOOLS, ICONS,
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ARTIFACTS AND ARTWORK PROFANED BY USE IN AN INAPPROPRIATE CONTEXT.
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Another problem arose when the editors inserted a Christian
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into our segment who said that Wicca was inappropriate because it
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is not Christian. When asked why such was done the reporter
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replied that it is good journalistic practice to offer two sides
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of an issue. WindFire Coven feels that should a contemporary
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religion be represented, such as the Jewish or the Mormon faith,
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the station would not be as quick to put in dissenting views. We
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feel that Channels 5/30 leaned toward promoting the stereotypical
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image of witches by having a Christian define what we are and are
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not. Such cannot be allowed to continue any longer.
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MAKE SURE THAT YOUR SEGMENT IS YOURS AND YOURS ALONE. DO NOT
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ALLOW THE EDITORS TO INSERT DISSENTING VIEWS IN YOUR SEGMENT.
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DISSENTING VIEWS CAN BE PRESENTED IN ANOTHER SEGMENT DEDICATED
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ENTIRELY FOR DISCUSSION OF DIFFERENCES. MAKE SURE THAT WICCA IS
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REPRESENTED BY WICCANS, NOT BY CHRISTIANS, NOT BY NEW AGERS, NOT
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BY LOCAL PSYCHICS. TAKE CONTROL OF THE INTERVIEW BEFORE IT TAKES
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CONTROL OF YOUR COVEN.
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Blessed Be!
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Copyright (c) Ammond Shadowcraft Oct. 1988
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--------
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This is an sample form to be used when reporters come to your
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home to interview your circle or coven.
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WRITTEN AGREEMENTS AND GUARANTEES FOR INTERVIEW WITH WINDFIRE COVEN
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Dated: ________________________
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Note: For the purpose of this Agreement WindFire Coven is
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termed the Interviewee and ______________________ is termed the
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Interviewer.
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The Interviewee agrees to accept reporters from the
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Interviewer into their homes and/or sacred space to witness and
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report seasonal and/or generic rituals, to photograph and film
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tools, icons, artifacts, artwork, poetry and songs, to interview
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the Coven and individual members, for a period not to exceed 24
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hours, providing that the following agreements are made:
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The Interviewer will employ the usable or airable video
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footage filmed, photographs and/or recordings of/during this
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interview for any segment and/or report as a singular complete
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segment and/or report and in such a way as to retain the original
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context and atmosphere intended by the Interviewee. No other
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individuals, religious faiths and/or religious groups will be
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included in this segment/report without the express permission of
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the Interviewee.
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The Interviewer will employ the usable or airable video
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footage filmed, photographs and/or recordings of/during this
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interview for any promotion as a singular complete promotion and
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in such a way as to retain the original context and atmosphere
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intended by the Interviewee. No other individuals, religious
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faiths and/or religious groups will be included in this promotion
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without the express permission of the Interviewee.
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The Interviewer will treat all persons, tools, icons,
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artifacts, artwork, poetry and music filmed, photographed or
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recorded as integral parts of the interview and will not use any
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cassette, video or photographic representations of these
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persons/items in any other context or external segment, report or
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promotion without the express permission of the Interviewee.
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____________________________________________________
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For WINDFIRE COVEN (Interviewee)
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____________________________________________________
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For __________________________________ (Interviewer)
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____________________________________________________
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Witness
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____________________________________________________
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Witness
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____________________________________________________
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Witness
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bed with a hags cackling. This
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hurt the member greatly as she is noth |