CLA: 2008 February 19
http://tinyurl.com/2m24tw
Copyright Campaign Among Most Visible Media Campaigns of 2007
OTTAWA, ON (February 19, 2008) – The Canadian Library Association’s bold gamble to hold a media event on copyright four days before Christmas paid off with a national award from the CNW Group (Canada Newswire).
CLA’s media release was ranked in the top 10 files accessed by journalists on the day of release. The CLA news release was accessed by journalists a total of 682 times on Dec. 21, 2007 alone.
This award underscores the huge reach of the CLA campaign that led to major coverage in newspapers, magazines, radio and television media across Canada. Highlights included front page coverage in the Globe and Mail, special coverage on Macleans.ca, and coverage on CBC Radio news and on CTV.ca.
In addition, the campaign received massive coverage online and on social networking websites such as Facebook. The online story alone reached an estimated 50,000 Canadians.
Led by the Association’s Copyright Committee, the renewed campaign on pending copyright legislation calls for balance between the rights of creators, rightsholders, and users like library patrons.
A key component of the plan was a major national press conference on Parliament Hill and a national press release. These efforts were combined with a media outreach campaign that utilized direct calls to journalists and editors, e-mails and a newswire release. Overall, the campaign was a major success in building awareness of library community concerns on copyright and highlighting public concerns on the issue.
“This award is a real boost for our copyright campaign,” says CLA Executive Director Don Butcher. “To know ours was one of the most accessed news releases by journalists shows we made a real impact. This, combined with feature coverage, means the public, the media and politicians are aware of our cause.”
CLA will continue the advocacy campaign in the coming months and will look for continued member support on this important issue. The subsequent launch of CLA’s copyright advocacy kit, available on CLA’s website, was also captured on significant public policy blogs.
The Canadian Library Association is Canada’s largest national library association, providing a broad range of services to 2,300 personal and 500 institutional members, and representing the concerns of some 57,000 individuals who work in library and information services in Canada.
For more information, please contact:
Alana FontaineTel.: (613) 233-8906
Cell: (613) 299-4017
alana@impactcanada.com
