For conservation organisations, getting worthwhile commercial TV coverage of major global issues, such as species extinction, must be difficult, because we rarely see any.
At university, journalists were taught ‘Dog bites man’ is not a news story. ‘Man bites dog’ is.
Obviously, it pays to be different, so how about a new approach in media release writing to get some newsroom attention? An added touch of effrontery, and a threat for good measure, could jolt viewers out of indifference …
RELEASE: ELEPHANT SHOOTS IVORY POACHER
An African savanna elephant has been mysteriously endowed with supernatural self-defence powers. In an incident witnessed by American tourists, the elephant was able to hypnotise an ivory poacher, sending telepathic instructions while bending his rifle shaft up and then backwards. As a result, the poacher blew his own brains out.
Now that we have your attention, we can say this is bunkum, but there are things you should know.
According to the WWF:
Each year, at least 20,000 African elephants are illegally killed for their tusks. A decade-long resurgence in demand for elephant ivory, particularly in parts of Asia, has fuelled this rampant poaching epidemic. The elephant ivory trade not only threatens the very survival of this iconic species, but causes broader ecological consequences.
The African forest elephant is now listed as critically endangered. The African savanna elephantis also threatened. Numbers have fallen by 86% and 60% respectively. There are now only 415,000 African elephants in the wild.
So, why don’t you – YES, YOU – face the facts and start thinking beyond your own precious backyard for a change? Start caring about our planet’s precious threatened species and do something useful like supporting a dynamic conservation group such as the WWF.
If you don’t, a supernatural elephant will arrive in your backyard and make quite a mess.
REFERENCES:
https://www.worldwildlife.org/initiatives/stopping-elephant-ivory-demand