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THIS IS A REPOST:

Eric Francis Coppolino
In addition to responding with a petition, I think that astrologers have to hone their media relations skills. We almost always flub these opportunities. It is not an accident when an industry or an issue gets positive media attention.

The thing to remember is that journalism is about relationships, and those relationships with people -- not with media institutions. They are also about credibility, particularly when a journalist makes a cold call to someone; they get to you because they know about you and begin with a presumption of trust.

This is a fairly easy skill to train, though it takes some world-weaving and ongoing focus to be ready when the time is ripe. I found that I was treated very fairly by the media in this last go-around, as I was when Eris was named and Pluto "demoted." It may be that I am "one of them" and I'm treated with respect by my colleagues in the press -- and this is precisely how the world works and what we need to foster and cultivate. When speaking to reporters, it's necessary to speak their language, and to know the reporter's needs for their bosses and their readers.

It begins with your relationship to the local media -- the reporters at local TV and radio stations in your community, and magazines and newspapers. Credibility is built over time, and astrology has some catching up to do.

I'll give you an example -- we have developed a list of 2,500 news desks and other official functions. On key occasions like this, over the years, we mail the full edition of Planet Waves. This is to keep people informed, the few who click ...the email; it's going to have a ripple effect; and some day when I talk to one of these people who gets these mailings they will have heard of me five or 10 times and feel like they have a relationship. This will only work if the materials sent are in the language of journalism, which is different than the language of astrology. So this is one of my yoga practices as well -- to continuously translate astrology into the modality of journalism. My intent is to make it easier for everyone, and create a baseline of trust and knowledge between the press and the astrological community.