In an age of short news cycles and fierce competition for media attention, America's political parties have to move fast to "get the message out." Members of the Libertarian Party launched a collaborative effort on Wednesday to maximize their party's positive media exposure.
"Our goal is to produce timely, accurate press releases covering the Libertarian Party's principles, positions and activities, then assist reporters by connecting them with knowledgeable interview subjects," says Thomas L. Knapp, coordinator of the Center for Libertarian Press Information.
The group formed after a series of official party communiques which they believe inaccurately portrayed the Libertarian Party and fumbled important facts. "Instead of complaining, we decided to build a better mousetrap," says Knapp, 42, of St. Louis, Missouri. "Libertarians tend toward self-reliance and personal responsibility. When we realized we couldn't rely on our paid headquarters staff to get the job done, we sat down and put together a volunteer project to take care of business." The Center is not controlled or endorsed by the Libertarian National Committee, the party's governing body.
CLiPr.info's operating plan includes a fast-moving review process designed to get releases out in hours rather than days without sacrificing accuracy of information or adherence to the party's platform and statement of principles. "Our process gets a release into the field -- on the wire services, on reporters' desks, up on the web -- in about four hours from proposal to proofreading and content review to finished product," says Knapp."
The Libertarian Party, founded in 1971, is America's third largest political party. Hundreds of Libertarians serve in elected or appointed public office. The party's presidential candidate, former US Representative Bob Barr of Georgia, received 523,686 votes in the 2008 election.
The Center for Libertarian Press Information's web site is located at http://www.clipr.info.
