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Deadline Outreach Journal: The Power of Relationships

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Posted on July 28, 2004

History in the Making

On Friday night, July 30th, indie doc history will be made. Deadline, a Big Mouth Productions film directed by Katy Chevigny and Kirsten Johnson, will air on Dateline NBC. It is rare that a social issue documentary is picked up by a national network and has the opportunity to reach so many viewers. An average of 5.5 million viewers watch NBC's news magazine--a number usually documentary filmmakers only dream of. While many documentaries are broadcast on television--typically on PBS, HBO, or other cable stations--NBC has a broader demographic. Hence in an election year, the broadcast of a political film on NBC offers an unprecedented outreach opportunity.

Deadline follows former Governor George Ryan of Illinois. The Republican governor must decide whether or not to commute the sentences of over 160 death row inmates after 13 condemned men in his state are found innocent. With Governor Ryan's struggle at the center, the film examines the death penalty, its application and history, and the passions it ignites on both sides of the debate.

The film's producers, Dallas Brennan and Katy Chevigny, and Outreach Director Angela Tucker are preparing to harness this opportunity to create a major web-based outreach campaign. The focus is to educate voters and to encourage activism around capital punishment. To do so they will draw on the relationships and experiences that have been years in the making.

Preparing for Outreach: Building an Advisory Committee

L to R: Kirsten Johnson (co-director), Dallas Brennan (producer) and Katy Chevigny (co-director), not pictured Angela Tucker (associate producer), Production Team for Deadline
New York, 2003
Photo Credit: William Rexer II

The July 30th broadcast date will launch Deadline's outreach, but the team is quick to emphasize that it is neither the beginning nor the end of the process. Outreach, in fact, began during pre-production in 2001 when the filmmakers established an advisory committee. The committee consists of experts, academics, and activists in the field who can help shape the direction of the film with their expertise. The advisory committee members are also connected to organizations that can help achieve wider outreach when the film is finished. By the time the film is released the committee members have been working with the filmmakers for years and are as invested in the film's success as the filmmakers.

Chevigny and Johnson initially set out to make a film exploring the 1972 Supreme Court decision finding the application of the death penalty unconstitutional. Advisory committee member George Kendall, of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, played a critical role in shaping the film, and, consequently, in defining the audience targeted for outreach. Kendall recommended that the filmmakers include a contemporary event in the film. His suggestion led to a trip to Chicago to follow Governor George Ryan--which later became the core story of Deadline. Other committee members appeared in the film; educated the filmmakers about both sides of the debate; or introduced them to the critical perspectives of non profit organizations. One such organization is Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation (MVFR), whose members lend great emotional and moral weight to the film. All of the committee members are also publicizing the screening and strategizing on how to meet the outreach goals.

Financing Outreach: Seeking Funding

When the NBC deal was finalized, these advisory committee relationships proved invaluable. Chevigny started contacting funders who understood the challenges faced by independent media. She explains, "I hoped they would recognize this merging of independent and corporate worlds as an opportunity. Some of the foundations I contacted had been approached for production funding. While they did not end up funding production, they were already familiar with the film--which was another advantage when it came to raising outreach funds." The NBC deal, together with Big Mouth's relationships, efforts, and outreach vision led to funding from organizations such as the Ford Foundation, the Open Society Institute, and the Jeht Foundation.

Planning Outreach: Drawing on a Knowledge Base

The production team was concerned with leveraging the enormous viewership into activism and using their outreach resources human and financial to make the largest impact. Chevigny notes that, "while the documentary itself can open eyes, it is not a textbook on the criminal justice system. There is so much more people can learn, so many ways to get involved. The broadcast is just the tip of the iceberg."

Tucker drew upon the relationships she had been cultivating since the start of the film. Through her preexisting Advisory Committee contacts, she was able to quickly connect to the Ad Hoc Death Penalty Group, an umbrella group of anti-death penalty activists and organizations. She also selected national participant organizations with a range of specializations, such as Amnesty International; Equal Justice USA; National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty; and Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation. Each organization is contributing its experience towards both strategy and implementation of outreach.

Implementing an Outreach Plan: The Power of the Internet & The Human Touch

Angela Tucker, outreach director, notes how much--and how little--has changed in two and a half years.

Big Mouth Productions is working with its sister organization MediaRights to leverage the Internet for the NBC audience. More and more often, viewers go to the website of a program they have just watched. A website gives them an easily accessible way to learn more about an issue and how to get involved.

The Deadline website offers a place for people to learn about capital punishment. State-by-state, visitors will be able to find out about death penalty legislation, activist organizations, and volunteer opportunities, as well as upcoming Deadline screenings and panels. The site will also provide direct contacts to the outreach team and a blog, to engender connection and dialogue. People hosting viewing parties will bring together friends, family, and other interested people to watch the broadcast together and discuss afterwards with the help of a viewing guide to facilitate discussion. Big Mouth has developed a guide with Active Voice to download from the website the night of the broadcast. The site is also organized to capture the traffic the NBC broadcast will generate.

The team still recognizes the importance of more traditional outreach--screenings and panels. Screenings are being organized in target states in which a moratorium or abolition of capital punishment are under consideration. Panels and speakers will be tailored to meet the needs of each audience or co-sponsoring organization. Outreach Director Angela Tucker explains: "A tremendous proportion of our human and financial resources--maybe 75%--is going toward the website. Viewing parties, DVD distribution, a major web presence, the popularization of the genre--the whole way docs are viewed has changed. But, don't underestimate the importance of building relationships-- face-to-face meetings, phone calls, ongoing interaction. Even if the core of your strategy is web-based, cultivating the human element is still critical to a successful outreach campaign."