Much thanks to Siham, our first lesson is now available in Arabic!

After you start your campaign (which you can learn how to do here):

- Contact international news services and agencies. We recommend:

The BBC.

Do not just request for this information to be on the BBC News website, rather ask them to include it in the news agenda so it can be mentioned on the BBC World channel as well. Provide screenshots of your campaign, preferably with pictures of the subject in the banner, in order for it to appear on the news channel. Make yourself available for BBC Radio interviews both in English and Arabic (or Farsi, Urdu, French, depending on the case and location.)

Al Jazeera. (Click here for English/International.)

Contact Al Jazeera by e-mail at first and request that your information be provided on their website. Ask them to write back if they have further questions or if they request an interview with the campaign’s co-founders and staff.

Sample letter:

To whoever it may concern,

I am writing to you requesting your urgent help concerning a recent case that took place in [Country]. [Blogger's Name], my [friend/colleague] has recently been arrested and we would greatly appreciate it if this can receive some coverage in your news hour, if only briefly! This is a serious case and is a violation of human rights in [Country,] and reporting it is very important so that the world is aware of what is going on. [Blogger's Name]’s only crime is freedom of expression, and no matter how much one may disagree with [Blogger's Name]’s writings or opinions, free speech should never be considered a punishable crime anywhere.

We have started a campaign to Free [Blogger's Name], which can be viewed on [website.] The campaign’s founder can be reached at:

Name: Your full name.
E-mail: Your e-mail address.
Phone #: Your phone number.
Fax #: Your fax number.
Website: Campaign’s website.

Please help us spread the word, and contact us for further information. We are available for media interviews.

Take a very brief video of you discussing the case and send it to Al Jazeera’s The Listening Post. They accept all formats, but .mpeg is preferable for ease and quality. Don’t just state what happened; ask for help! Remember to give the address of your campaign in the video or request that it appears on the bottom in order for people to know how they find your campaign.

[Here are their tips on how to start a video blog. You can scroll to the bottom of this page and "send it" using the links provided.] You may be required to register on YouSendIt in order to send the video file, but registration is free and easy. Direct the file to the following address:

listeningpost[at]aljazeera[dot]net (Note: Remember to replace the @ and . to the appropriate symbols, they were replaced initially in order to avoid spam.)

More networks to include in your contact list:

Reuters

The Associated Press (AP)

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) More specifically: internet[at]rsf[dot]org, and middle-east[at]rsf[dot]org- Contact influential bloggers (look at the detained blogger’s blogroll, and contact everyone included in this list. If their e-mails are not provided in their profiles, inform them about the campaign in the form of a comment.)
- Contact or refer to local aggregators for support or information on blogs within your country who may be supportive of this campaign, for example, in Iran, a good source might be Balatrin. In the Arab world, iToot is a place to start.)
- Contact Global Voices Online with your concerns and request that the campaign is covered.
- Create banners in your website for others to include on their blogs and websites. Eventually, create a page such as this one listing all of the different sizes (if possible, in several languages.)

After this, and after the basics of the campaign are ready (you included most of the information about said blogger through links, and explanations and updates on the case), start writing op-eds. Examples:

Jailed for Blogging - featured in the International Herald Tribune (contact us personally to put you through to some editors of international papers who may be interested in featuring your work.)
A prisoner of his own words - featured on Pajamas Media (sending info.)

- You need to always be creative! After spreading the word through the global blogosphere, through social networking websites, and through international media outlets, do the following:

Use your talents. Music, video production, and especially art!

Here is an interesting example of using creativity to get a message across:

(Projection project - Requirements: Laptop, projector.)

Click here for more information on the above project. You could try contacting the artist for a request to do this.

For more creative ways to spread the word, try blending original music and an effective video.

Good example - Save Nazanin Fatehi:

Alternatively, you can try graffiti.

Try as many mediums as possible! From music, to radio, to videos/films to media outlets and blogs! Reach your audience on both a local and global scale for overwhelming support and added pressure. It will take much time, thought, and effort, but you can do it if you follow the steps!

Stay tuned for more lessons in the future.

[For the Arabic version of this, please click here.]

Here is what you can do online as soon as you confirm the basic facts regarding an imprisoned blogger or journalist:

Step 1:
If the blogger is from the Middle East or North Africa, The Alliance for Essential Liberties in the Middle East made it incredibly easy for you to take action. (Note: The website is currently in English in order to increase awareness on a global scale. Effective action can take place only if the action is being supported worldwide. English as the global language makes it very easy for people to access information and to report it in worldwide media outlets. It increases your readership significantly.)- Visit the website and register:

Once you created your account, click on ‘create content’:

- Create a profile of the blogger or journalist:

- Read through (and follow!) the submission guidelines. After that, scroll down and begin writing the profile. Be sure to specify the country in order for the profile to appear in the right category:

While writing your profile, here are some questions to answer:

Who is this blogger or journalist? (Name, age, location, occupation, keep it very general.)

When was he/she arrested and why? (Confirm the exact facts before reporting it.)

What did this blogger or journalist write about? (If the posts are in Arabic, provide a brief summary of their posts in English, or the general theme behind the blog and the types of articles written.)

Why is it important to take action against the imprisonment of said blogger/journalist? (Convince your readers to take action by emphasizing the fact that freedom of speech is an essential aspect of human rights, and that we must always support it, even if we disagree with the opinions expressed by the victim.)

Media laws: Did the government of the country in question promise rights to free speech? (Use communication laws to your advantage, did the country sign the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? What does the constitution say about freedom of expression?)

There is a already a list of contacts which you can use depending on the location and purpose of the jailed blogger/journalist. Be sure to be very specific; find the correct contact information and send this to the most influential members (or the people involved in the decision making process, such as ambassadors, foreign ministers, etc.) See a sample list here:

Q. “How do I create contacts?”

A: The same way you create profiles. Once you click on create ‘contact,’ you have the option of plugging in a telephone number, a fax #, a postal address, an e-mail address, and any additional information. Please be sure to plug in the contact’s full name and occupation, as shown above in the sample. You also have the option of specifying your recipients:

Bonus points: Create a banner to include in your profile, so that in the end, you add the fact that you are in dire need of immediate support. Examples:

[Since the default version of PhotoShop does not accept Arabic text, the Adobe software is available in many languages, including Arabic. Click here for installation, and click here for a list of free Arabic fonts.]The results could be like this:

Step 2:

Create a website or a blog compiling a list of information and media coverage regarding said blogger/journalist.Here are some free blog sites that you can use for free:Blogger
WordPressHowever, it is strongly encouraged for you to get a domain (ex: FreeThisBlogger.org) in order to make the campaign more official (and easily accessed.) If you don’t have a credit card and want to start a temporary campaign site at first, skip to step 3.

Here are some recommended domain sites, where you can buy a .org domain for less than $10:

Go Daddy

Q. “How do I do this?”

A. Look for this feature in any domain service website, and seek your wanted domain:

Proceed to your shopping cart by clicking “Go!”Follow the information, plug in your credit card number, and buy the domain. Within a few hours, check your e-mail. Follow the information about how to manage this domain in order to make it accessible. You can apply a domain name with free hosting, such as wordpress. To do this, you need to cloak your domain. This option should be available in your control panel. Please contact us for further information on this.

We also recommend DreamHost domains for excellent customer service.

If you want to pay for hosting, browse through this cheap hosting directory.

For FAST and efficient services, we once again recommend DreamHost.

IMPORTANT: When choosing a host, make sure you turn on your privacy features! Select anonymous addresses when asked whether or not you want to expose your information (this includes your full name and billing address.) This way, you will not be able to be tracked. This is very important for security reasons. If you choose to pay for a host, please double check with your hosting company that this privacy setting is enabled.

Step 3

- Now that you have a blog site, introduce your campaign. Who are you supporting, why are you supporting them, and why should others support them? Why is this important? Make it very easy for people to find things. Include a section for an FAQ, an “About” page with the essential details, and a page for press releases and media links.

- Give people a reason to come back. LiveBlog the case. Is this blogger/journalist being held for trial? Do they have lawyers and if so, collaborate with them as often as you can for quick and reliable information. Keep people well informed and up to date.

- Post pictures of the blogger/journalist in question. This makes them easier to relate to.

- Register for Google Alerts, where, through e-mail, you can receive all kinds of news (from both news services and bloggers) about the blogger/journalist in question. Use different variations of spelling (i.e, Kareem Amer vs. Abdul Karim, Ahmed vs. Ahmad, etc. Just in case you don’t miss anything!)

- Be ACTIVE as a writer! Give your readers a reason to come back. Post videos, podcasts, and if these are not available, create your own!

Q. “How do I create my own videos?”

A. You can create your videos using Windows Movie Maker. (Your PC most likely already comes with this installed, and if you are on a Mac, you can use iMovie.) If not, these are available on download.com

Once you are done creating these videos, import them, and then you can submit your videos to YouTube or Dailymotion for free.

If you want to translate your video, you can easily do so using BubblePLY.

Step 4- Start an online petition.Recommended services:Petition Online
iPetitionsInsert the contact e-mails of the recipients (be sure of the correct details.) Have a permanent link on your website to the petition, and promote it in every way possible, such as through blog comments, mass e-mails, newsletters, etc.

Step 5:Organize a team and take on specific roles. Start with 3 roles:

Director

Editor

Webmaster

Director’s responsibilities include: Media contacts, tracking all information on the blogger/journalist, spreading the word to international organizations and NGOs dealing with human rights issues.
Editor’s responsibilities include: Reviewing comments, promoting the website, publishing information on the site, sending newsletters featuring the latest updates.
Webmaster: Web design and technical support.

After this stage is completed, look for people to help you with public relations. Example: journalists, influential bloggers, people involved with active NGOs, etc.

Step 6:Start groups on social networking sites and start looking for people to invite.Recommendations:MySpace
FacebookAlso, contact the relevant writers of Global Voices Online and have someone cover the story for you.

For now, this is our quick list of what you can do to start a campaign! In future lessons, we will be discussing how to maintain a campaign’s attention, how to contact media outlets and which news services to target, as well as creative ways to increase awareness outside of the blogosphere and in the real world. Stay tuned!