The Activist's Media Handbook: Lessons from Fifty Years as a Progressive Agitator
Activist and public relations thought leader David Fenton shares lessons on how to organize successful media campaigns, cultivated from more than half a century working within some of history’s most impactful social movements.

In an extraordinary career David Fenton has learned first-hand what to do—and not to do—to propel progressive causes into the public eye and create real, impactful, lasting change.

A visionary activist, Fenton has been the driving force behind some of the most important and history-making campaigns of the last 50 years, from the No-Nukes concerts with Bruce Springsteen in 1979, to the campaigns to free Nelson Mandela and end apartheid in the late 1980s, exposing the dangers of toxic chemicals in our food, the long battle to legalize marijuana and end racist drug laws, the misinformation in Washington during the Bush era in the 2000s, and recent campaigns that successfully banned fracking in New York and alerted the public to the climate crisis, including the environmental impact of Bitcoin.

Reflecting on his life, with tales of living in a commune, photographing riots and rock stars, working at Rolling Stone and High Times magazines rabble-rousing with Abbie Hoffman, and collaborating with presidents and celebrities, David tells the fascinating story of how he developed the strategies and tactics that have made him a successful media agitator. David then shows how these tools can be used by anyone to advance their cause.

Part rollercoaster memoir, part practical guide, The Activist's Media Handbook provides an essential toolkit for today’s activists for organizing to win: how to tell your story, captivate audiences, and inspire them to join the cause.
1140975724
The Activist's Media Handbook: Lessons from Fifty Years as a Progressive Agitator
Activist and public relations thought leader David Fenton shares lessons on how to organize successful media campaigns, cultivated from more than half a century working within some of history’s most impactful social movements.

In an extraordinary career David Fenton has learned first-hand what to do—and not to do—to propel progressive causes into the public eye and create real, impactful, lasting change.

A visionary activist, Fenton has been the driving force behind some of the most important and history-making campaigns of the last 50 years, from the No-Nukes concerts with Bruce Springsteen in 1979, to the campaigns to free Nelson Mandela and end apartheid in the late 1980s, exposing the dangers of toxic chemicals in our food, the long battle to legalize marijuana and end racist drug laws, the misinformation in Washington during the Bush era in the 2000s, and recent campaigns that successfully banned fracking in New York and alerted the public to the climate crisis, including the environmental impact of Bitcoin.

Reflecting on his life, with tales of living in a commune, photographing riots and rock stars, working at Rolling Stone and High Times magazines rabble-rousing with Abbie Hoffman, and collaborating with presidents and celebrities, David tells the fascinating story of how he developed the strategies and tactics that have made him a successful media agitator. David then shows how these tools can be used by anyone to advance their cause.

Part rollercoaster memoir, part practical guide, The Activist's Media Handbook provides an essential toolkit for today’s activists for organizing to win: how to tell your story, captivate audiences, and inspire them to join the cause.
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The Activist's Media Handbook: Lessons from Fifty Years as a Progressive Agitator

The Activist's Media Handbook: Lessons from Fifty Years as a Progressive Agitator

by David Fenton
The Activist's Media Handbook: Lessons from Fifty Years as a Progressive Agitator

The Activist's Media Handbook: Lessons from Fifty Years as a Progressive Agitator

by David Fenton

Hardcover

$35.00 
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Overview

Activist and public relations thought leader David Fenton shares lessons on how to organize successful media campaigns, cultivated from more than half a century working within some of history’s most impactful social movements.

In an extraordinary career David Fenton has learned first-hand what to do—and not to do—to propel progressive causes into the public eye and create real, impactful, lasting change.

A visionary activist, Fenton has been the driving force behind some of the most important and history-making campaigns of the last 50 years, from the No-Nukes concerts with Bruce Springsteen in 1979, to the campaigns to free Nelson Mandela and end apartheid in the late 1980s, exposing the dangers of toxic chemicals in our food, the long battle to legalize marijuana and end racist drug laws, the misinformation in Washington during the Bush era in the 2000s, and recent campaigns that successfully banned fracking in New York and alerted the public to the climate crisis, including the environmental impact of Bitcoin.

Reflecting on his life, with tales of living in a commune, photographing riots and rock stars, working at Rolling Stone and High Times magazines rabble-rousing with Abbie Hoffman, and collaborating with presidents and celebrities, David tells the fascinating story of how he developed the strategies and tactics that have made him a successful media agitator. David then shows how these tools can be used by anyone to advance their cause.

Part rollercoaster memoir, part practical guide, The Activist's Media Handbook provides an essential toolkit for today’s activists for organizing to win: how to tell your story, captivate audiences, and inspire them to join the cause.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781647228668
Publisher: Palace Publishing Group, LP
Publication date: 11/01/2022
Pages: 248
Product dimensions: 7.80(w) x 9.70(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

David Fenton is the founder of Fenton Communications, created to promote issue-oriented public relations campaigns on the environment, public health, and human rights. He also helped create JStreet, Climate Nexus, the Death Penalty Information Center, and Families for a Future.

Table of Contents

Foreword George Lakoff, PhD 08

Prologue: Yoko one beats New York governor Andrew Cuomo 10

Introduction 16

Chapter 1 Adversity Makes an Activist: Or, the Origins of an Activist 26

Chapter 2 My Professor, Abbie Hoffman 38

Chapter 3 The High School Dropout Radical Photojournalist 46

Chapter 4 Chaos, Rage, Bombs, and Nixon 60

Chapter 5 The Political Power of Rock and Roll 70

Chapter 6 A $5 Fine for Marijuana, Free Medical and Day Care 88

Chapter 7 No Nukes, High Times, and Rolling Stone 108

Chapter 8 Barbara Walters Saves Abbie From a Long Prison Term 114

Chapter 9 Putting Abbie's Lessons to Work by Founding Fenton 122

Chapter 10 Fighting to Free Nelson Mandela and Confronting Fidel 136

Chapter 11 Alar, Apples, and the Age of Disinformation 150

Chapter 12 Saving Swordfish and "What Would Jesus Drive?" 160

Chapter 13 Lawyers, Death Squads, and Effective Advertising 168

Chapter 14 MoveOn Rises, Murdoch and Zuckerberg Ruin America 180

Chapter 15 The Inconvenient Al Gore 192

Chapter 16 Recent Campaigns 204

Chapter 17 Climate Change: A Communication Failure 220

The Epilogue 226

Acknowledgments 240

Photo Credits 241

Resources 242

Index 244

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