1 for All

Newsletter 11/17/10

Friends of 1 for All:

Thanks for your tremendous support for the 1 for All campaign. We’re about to enter our sixth month and the visibility of the campaign just keeps building.

Thanks to the efforts of our 1 for All friends, ads have appeared in print and online all over America, with more than 100 million ad impressions to date. That reach has in turn allowed us to bring new celebrities into the fold, including David Gregory of “Meet the Press,” country singer Brad Paisley and young rocker Ke$ha. (Ask your kids.)

Our goal at 1 for All is to encourage Americans to truly reflect on the First Amendment twice a year. That includes the 4th of July, when flags are in abundant supply and patriotic feelings run high. In a bit of counter-programming, though, we’re also focusing on Dec. 15, the anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights. This Dec. 15 marks the 219th “birthday” of the First Amendment and we’re asking our media partners to run an ad that will encourage Americans to celebrate our freedoms on this day each year. Here’s what the ad looks like:

You can download this and additional configurations (including black and white ads) from our Media Resources section.

As you know, we generally ask that you run ads at your convenience on a space-available basis. In this case, it’s actually important that we all try to run it on Dec. 15.

On that topic, you may want to consider the anniversary of the Bill of Rights as a possible editorial or column topic the day or week of Dec. 15. The First Amendment may be 219 years old, but there’s always a fresh news hook. We’re also providing two guest columns, one by me and the other by Gene Policinski.

• Download Ken Paulson’s column (15KB .doc)
• Download Gene Policinski’s column (12KB .doc)

We deeply appreciate your support and remind you that we always welcome tearsheets. A number of papers have creatively adapted the ads, including using local celebrities and inserting their own logos as endorsers of the campaign. We love free expression.

If you haven’t been to the site lately, please take a couple of minutes to check out http://1forall.us/. We’re now featuring the winners of the 1 for All/YouTube video contest, the latest campus First Amendment festivals and a good library of lesson plans. If you know anyone in the education field, please share this valuable resource.

Have a wonderful holiday season.

Ken Paulson

615/727-1600
1forall@newseum.org

Newsletter 8/19/10

Friends of 1 for All:

Thanks for your ongoing support for the 1 for All campaign, now six weeks old and growing larger by the day.

• Newspapers, magazines and websites have run thousands of ads in support of the First Amendment.
• In turn, those ads have inspired a wide range of user-generated videos with First Amendment themes.
• We’ve narrowed those video contest entries down to 10 finalists, and voting continues through the end of August. You can cast your ballot here.
• Support from celebrities continues to grow. John Mellencamp was featured in our August ads; David Gregory, Brad Paisley and new country band Gloriana will be featured soon.
• 1 for All has awarded grants to six universities across the country so that they can hold First Amendment festivals and educational events:

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Middle Tennessee State University
Robert Morris University
North Georgia College and State University
University of Tennessee
Southern Illinois University

Funding for the campus programs is provided by the McCormick Foundation.

After our burst of advertising support in recent weeks, we’ll scale back a bit through the fall while we focus on campus media and some new educational initiatives.

Our strategy is to launch national ad blitzes twice a year: the July 4 holiday and the weeks surrounding Dec. 15, the anniversary of the ratification of the First Amendment. The former is a revered national holiday, and the latter should be.

To recap, the launch has been extraordinarily successful and we appreciate your support. We’ll keep you posted this fall, and ask you to begin scheduling ads again beginning in early December, when newspapers and magazines should have larger editions and greater flexibility.

With appreciation,
Ken Paulson
1 for All

Newsletter 7/19/10

Friends of 1 for All:

Congratulations on being part of an unprecedented outreach on behalf of the First Amendment. The 1 for All campaign kicked off on July 1, and thanks to the contributions of so many, it exceeded all expectations in terms of reach and visibility. Some examples:

• More than 1,100 newspapers and websites promoted the campaign through ads and links.
• Google devoted its home search page on July 1 to a single message: “Learn about your First Amendment rights with 1 for All.”
• USA Today featured a full-page, full color ad featuring campaign representative Ellen DeGeneres. Parade and USA Weekend carried ads to their far-reaching readerships.
• News organizations ranging from the Associated Press to the Huffington Post wrote about the campaign; dozens of editors wrote about 1 for All in their July 4 columns and many more editorial pages promoted our First Amendment efforts.
• Word Press promoted 1 for All to its universe of bloggers, leading to hundreds of additional posts.

In print, online and in social media, 1 for All was both vibrant and visible throughout our launch week. Weeks ahead should be just as energizing. John Mellencamp has agreed to be our campaign celebrity representative in August and a new set of ads will be available shortly at this page.

We’re also about to announce the awarding of grants to six universities across the country so that they can hold First Amendment festivals and educational summits. Funding for the Liberty Tree Initiative program is provided by the McCormick Foundation.

You may also hear in coming weeks from Paula Skaggs, the 1 for All coordinator based at the Newseum. She’ll be calling to thank you for your contributions and to ask how you used the 1 for All ads in your market.

In sum, it’s been a tremendously successful launch thanks to your good work. We’ll be in touch later this summer with details of new educational initiatives and opportunities for high schools in your community to receive grants to hold their own First Amendment days, potentially with your support and participation.

With appreciation,
Ken Paulson
1 for All