But just as our Teacher said:
"Every time evil uses bad people to damage us, they are actually promoting us!"(Lecture on the Fa at the U.S. Midwest Conference, June 26, 1999, Chicago)
We all know that media has played an important role in Dafa truth clarification. We've also noticed that the media in big cities may not come to a news conference since they already have coverage on the Falun Gong issue. But in smaller cities, since there may be no practitioners there, they have no chance to directly report a Falun Gong event. They basically reprint the news from the big newspapers or news agencies. Through communication with the editors and journalists of small-town media, we found that they are very interested in Falun Gong, but have no chance to make reports of local events. So when we held a press conference in small towns, most of them came.
Since the year 2000, practitioners have been offering Falun Gong introductory classes in small to medium Texas cities. The classes have been warmly welcomed, and the media reports positive. Our recent "Family Rescue Car Tour" has also been very effective and successful. The arrest of Charles Li in China has given us a good opportunity to communicate with local media. Their coverage in the Local News columns let many local residents know of the brutal persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China. In one city, the day after the local TV station broadcast our news, many local residents said: "We have learned about the issue from the TV news yesterday. We'll sign" to practitioners on the street collecting signatures. More and more people became upset with the Jiang Zemin's regime's illegal persecution of innocent Falun Gong practitioners.
Please do not underestimate the importance of small-town media. In Texas, there are about 1,000 newspapers, and many radio and TV stations. Their influence is huge. Each local newspaper may have only a circulation of a few thousand, or tens of thousands, but local residents trust these news sources because they relate directly to their own local situations. These people may ignore international news in big newspapers, but they read local news carefully, because it's close to them. Once, after a report about our workshop was published together with the next class schedule, about 50 people came to the second workshop. For those who did not come to the class, as long as they read the report, they will have a good and deep impression of Falun Gong.
The "Family Rescue Car Tour" is a good, fast way to clarify the truth. We would first prepare a "Media Alert" that emphasised that a Falun Gong practitioner who is an American citizen was arrested at an airport in China. Three to four of us would take part in a media conference (two people would work as well). We would erect a frame to support a banner reading, "SOS Urgent Rescue US Citizen Dr. Li Persecuted In China" together with a large photo of Dr. Li , then we Dafa practitioners did the sitting meditation, the standing exercises or sent forth righteous thoughts [using upright thoughts to purify oneself and others]. Editors and journalists were attracted to the scene. One editor said: "This is not a local issue, but since you have come to us, we will report it."
Our fellow Dafa practitioners have experienced that we should keep strong righteous thoughts when informing the media. We used to fax the media about our event, and then make a confirmation call, then wait for the media to come. That is not enough. We know what we are doing is very important, more important than other local news. Even though the editors or the journalists may not realise that, we know they should come. For example, on the way to the city of Corpus Christi, we called the local media with our cell phone to tell them it is an important issue concerning whether an American citizen could be saved. That afternoon, all three TV stations and the one newspaper came.
In San Marcos, Texas, owing to the snow, the editor of the local newspaper said they might not attend the news conference because driving conditions were extremely poor. With the university on holiday, its newspaper had nobody to come, so neither media came. Two days later, we passed through the city and contacted the media again. The local newspaper said they would not come, while the university newspaper said they would come. But after we set up the banners and photos, no journalists came. So we started sending forth righteous thoughts. After a while one female reporter came. We thought she was from the university newspaper, but actually she was from the local town's newspaper. She said she was driving by the City Hall, and saw our banner, and came out of curiosity. After she left, we packed up and planned to go, but we remembered that the university newspaper had not come, so we called them. They said they thought it was on the weekend. We told them the news conference was going on, so they dispatched a photographer and a reporter to come. It is important to take the initiative when contacting the media.
City Halls are good places for a media conference because they are usually close to the newspaper office and the radio station. Normally, you do not need a permit to use the front area of the city hall in most small cities. Also parking is easy, space is plentiful and clean, and you can talk with the Mayor and other officials about the facts of Falun Gong.
If local media did not come to our conference and we had time, we would go and talk with the editors, telling them that we just had a press conference, and that the issue is very important, and we hope to talk with them for even just 5 or 10 minutes, and hope they will do a report on it. We found that "to raise awareness" is an effective phrase. After the reporter heard it, he might do a report on the issue.
If they are really busy, we could write a report including some photos, then email it to them. A newspaper may not put all of their news on their website. To archive the reports about our activities for future reference, we could leave a name card with the media, and ask them to mail us a copy of the newspaper or the audio or videotapes, or leave them a big envelope. Follow up is also important. We could call to ask whether or when the article will be published. Then send a thank you letter with a gift like a bookmark to show our appreciation of their report.
We feel that all the newspapers, TV and radio stations were created for Dafa, and are good assistants in our large-scale activities to clarify the truth and save sentient beings. In fact, only the evil is afraid of being exposed. It is afraid of both the bigger and the smaller media. After the weekend car tour to all the bigger cities in Texas, we planned other media events in six small cities. This led a decrease in temperature in the Austin area to below zero and also snow. This kind of interruption made us realise the importance of our work, and encouraged us. After a local newspaper had reported on the event, we would send the news to Dafa website's, so it would be quickly known to the whole world as the governments, people, and the evil persecutors could all read it. I once told a small-town newspaper editor that after they reported our event, their newspaper became widely known. After I explained to him why, he said: "This result is beyond my expectation."
Finally we have a word to say. There are less than two months until May 13, World Falun Dafa Day. This would be another good opportunity to clarify the truth of Dafa to various levels of government. Do not underestimate the effect of a Proclamation from a small city. Its shockwave could influence the whole world.
Every righteous voice is a heavy blow to the evil and may save countless sentient beings. Just like a report by a local newspaper, its influence could be global and far-reaching.
Chinese version available at http://www.yuanming.net/articles/200303/18443.html
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