news

The Good War

By
Posted on June 14, 2002

Outreach Campaign

by Alisa Ikeda

Rick Tejada-Flores and Judith Ehrlich's THE GOOD WAR and Those Who Refused to Fight It is a thought-provoking documentary of American conscientious objectors (C.O.s) - brave, compassionate and sometimes conflicted people whose principles would not allow them to participate in killing other human beings in World War II. The film raises impossible-to-dismiss questions of patriotism and heroism, of war, peace and justice.

"As with any film ITVS takes on," says Jim Sommers, national outreach manager, "our goal with THE GOOD WAR was to increase awareness and build an audience for the broadcast. We did this by forging partnerships with constituents who had a vested interest in the issues raised in the film. We then brought together these partners with their local public television stations. This opened up new lines of communication around issues that are often challenging to address in the community." To support the public television launch of THE GOOD WAR, ITVS hired Suzanne Stenson O'Brien to help coordinate the campaign. She worked closely with 13 Community Connections Project (CCP) organizers across the country who facilitated screenings and public forums, distributed outreach materials and implemented creative television tune-in campaigns to connect local concerns to the national broadcast.

Challenges

Given the political and social climate following the events of September 11, ITVS recognized that some public television stations would find the program too controversial to air, but that didn't deter the CCP from bringing the program to the attention of programmers and station outreach staff as well as local and national organizations that share an interest in the subject.

Another stumbling block proved to be the lack of female representation in the program. Even though it is an accurate historical documentary about a time when women's roles were not as prominent or visible, many peace organizations are feminist and therefore needed convincing that the program was still relevant.

Potential Partners

Efforts to secure local and national partners began with the program itself. For example, the Historical Committee of the Mennonite Church U.S.A. provided footage that was used in the film. Mennonites are featured in the program, and the content reflects values that are important to the Church. Cynthia Snider, director of the office of communications of the Mennonite Church U.S.A. encountered no resistance from her board when she recommended they become a national outreach partner. "While the Mennonite Church believes that justice must be sought, the denomination also believes that there are alternatives to war. We are eager to promote that view to the public, especially in light of the events of September 11 and their aftermath." Not surprisingly, faith communities were especially interested in working with THE GOOD WAR, because "they were trying to find a way to reconcile the concept of the Ten Commandments, which say, 'Thou shalt not kill,' with the desire for justice and, in some, vengeance. There was also a non-religious peace activist constituency," says O'Brien. The search for appropriate outreach partners can often yield unexpected allies. For instance, THE GOOD WAR outreach campaign enjoyed an unforeseen collaboration with the Physicians for Social Responsibility. "While their program is not overtly about pacifism or war, their executive director is a C.O., and he was very active in helping support a screening at the Smithsonian," says O'Brien.

Public Television Stations

Although PBS accepted THE GOOD WAR for an NPS airdate, individual stations were free to schedule the program when they believed it would best serve their broadcast schedule to meet the needs of their local audience. Programmers know there can be a delicate balance between challenging viewers and alienating them. So when Kimberly Kranich, outreach coordinator for WILL in Urbana, Illinois, saw the opportunity to do outreach around THE GOOD WAR, she first went to secure buy-in from her station to assure that her colleagues would support her efforts. There was no question WILL would air the show, says Kranich, but there was healthy debate within the station regarding the appropriateness of taking extra steps to promote it. "Where the caution, fear or nervousness came in was in people thinking that we would be perceived as being against the [current] war [against terrorism]."

Kranich argued that the station airs many programs that glorify and honor soldiers, but that there had been little, until now, to offer another perspective. She knew there was a local audience for the film. "I was aware of several groups in town who, after September 11, had immediately formed an anti-war, pacifist group. This program was perfect and very relevant." According to Kranich, "The discussion came down to this: If we're going to put something in our schedule, then we shouldn't hide it. We want to go out with a trumpet and call attention to the program. Our director said that's the level of support we should give anything we're willing to air." So trumpeting they went. Kranich set out to co-host an event a week before her local broadcast at the Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center.

The screening was a success. Approximately 40 people attended the event and they "were laughing, nodding and being inspired," reports Kranich. "Further, this gave our program director the chance to go out and talk about our programming. I think now that we've done it once we'll be able to do more of it."

"With our screening, we hit a lot of people we don't normally reach," says Kranich. "I like to match alternative, independent, more critical kinds of programs with audiences. I think that's what makes public TV shine. We have a lot of great stuff, and this experience proves we can do outreach around all of it."

"By getting out there or having people come to us for a screening," Kranich continues, "we are more vital. We're not just a staunch brick building. We engage people and make them feel like this is their station."

Tactics and Tools

To further support the outreach campaign, Jim Sommers worked with the filmmakers and national partners to create outreach materials including a viewer's guide, a community action kit and tune-in postcards. The ITVS Web team created an elaborate companion website complete with a viewer "talkback" discussion board and extensive historical information that couldn't be included in the one-hour television show. ITVS staff and the CCP field organizers made these resources available to local and national partners, stations and other people working on the campaign. ITVS also launched a national publicity campaign. Co-producer Judith Ehrlich was pleased that press coverage was strong and much more sympathetic than she had expected. For her, the crowning moment was a screening at the Oakland Museum of California, followed by a panel featuring C.O.s. "It was so well attended that we ended up turning people away. The aisles were full."

ITVS walks a fine line between providing complimentary outreach videotapes and dipping into potential educational distribution revenue that would help support independent filmmakers and their distributor. In the case of THE GOOD WAR, as always, a limited number of free tapes provided by ITVS were essential to building an outreach campaign. Screening tapes provide potential partners with immediate access to the show and "provide people with a way to work with the film on the ground in their community," says O'Brien. According to Transit Media (the tape fulfillment house handling video sales), THE GOOD WAR has had unprecedented sales.

Community Outreach

Successful screening events were held at venues large and small around the country. Several field organizers held screenings in their communities. In Philadelphia, CCP organizer Cindy Burstein worked with the American Friends Service Committee on a brown bag lunch series. There a screening was followed by a Q and A session with C.O. Steve Cary, who was featured in the film. Chicago CCP field organizer Connie Koch set up two screenings. Carlos Cortez, a C.O. featured in the film, attended both events and received standing ovations from audiences.

"I screened THE GOOD WAR for the Quaker meeting I attend," recalls O'Brien. "In advance of the meeting, a young woman had called her mother - who has been in the meeting since it was founded 50 years ago - and asked her for a list of all the people in attendance who were C.O.s. She then came with a bouquet of flowers and read their names from what she called 'the honor roll,' indicating that these flowers were for them." O'Brien's voice goes soft as she recounts the moving occasion. "There were about 40 on the list: some living, some passed. Some in the room were crying. Most were men; some had been in the starvation experiments; and many were still hurting. Yet nobody had known. The film gets at that hidden legacy - at something that is truly unspoken. To me, that young woman honoring regular people who have experienced such profound adversity for their beliefs means everything. That's the value of this kind of outreach work."

Looking Ahead

The success of an outreach campaign begins with the program itself. In the case of THE GOOD WAR, ITVS credits the producers and the show itself. The film was passionate without being shrill. This kind of work could not have been done with a point-of-view documentary. The filmmakers left the film open to interpretation. They worked with the audience to create an emotional arc where viewers cry, recover and then become re-energized to do something.

While Ehrlich credits the generous efforts of ITVS's Community Connections Project and national partners for the campaign's success, she agrees that the film's re-energizing qualities and its use beyond the broadcast have always been important to her. To that end, she is currently working on a national campus tour to bring universities, communities, high schools and churches together for screenings, workshops and discussions.

An educator at heart, Ehrlich offers filmmakers this seasoned advice: "Look beyond raising the money, beyond the production, and then beyond the broadcast. Just when you think your work is finally done, it's only beginning."