Press Gang

Press Gang is a collective which aims to share media skills with grassroots groups working towards social justice. We are activists who have been involved in media work for a wide range of groups, including Climate Camp, local anti-cuts groups, UK Uncut, Dale Farm Solidarity and many others.

Press Gang was set up in order to support the media liaison work of community/student/activist groups taking political action, particularly direct action and civil disobedience. The information is broadly applicable to any number of campaigns, but it was written in the context of fighting against the cuts, marketisation of education and public services and infringement on the right to protest.

We wanted to go beyond “how to give an interview and write a press release”-  taking a more holistic approach of incorporating social media, doing media for actions and representing your group to the public. We want to empower groups with the skills and confidence to be responsive, creative and confrontational in their media work.

The mainstream media is a powerful way of reaching people- we all know that. But its vast influence on public attention and opinion is predicated on vested interests, corporate power and profit-pulling. It’s also based on fast, gripping and new stories, which doesn’t prioritise in-depth debate and discussion, or even getting the facts straight. So it’s important that we learn how to navigate the media while also being aware of its limitations.

It’s essential that local and national grassroots groups hone their media skills so we can undermine the PR of corporations and government, get some of our messages across, and shift the frame of mainstream debate. Press Gang is an ongoing project to use the media to support our ability as a social/economic/climate justice movement to effect radical social change.