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Title: SML Role manual 2024

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ML 3/20/2

Created: 2024-05-08 01:26:08

Updated: 2024-05-08 01:27:40

Published: 2024-05-07 19:00:00

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background image Media Liaison: Training Manual

Table of Contents

Positions...................................................................................................................................10\\ Tools:........................................................................................................................................11\\ General:....................................................................................................................................11

**Your Signature............................................................................................................................. 12**

Page 1

Revised 3/20/24

background image A Word of Welcome
Congratulations on being selected as a Media Liaison (ML) for Convention of States (COS).
Your willingness to step into this vital role and become part of a leadership team will help fulfill
the mission of COS by building up the grassroots army of educated and engaged citizens.

The mission of Convention of States is to “Build an engaged army of self-governing grassroots
activists.”

We aim to grow a grassroots army large enough to call the first convention of states and
drive the political and cultural narrative across all 50 states. We want to see
self-governance and liberty flourish in our nation, and we believe this will only happen if
good people like you get involved in political and cultural battles. We want to train you how
to do this as effectively as possible.

If we fail to pass the resolution in one year, we will just keep growing the grassroots team and
training more activists until we have enough influence to effect the change and pass the
resolution. Every additional person we educate, train, and get involved with is one person closer
to victory! We often say, “There is no political problem that more grassroots can’t fix.”

As a Media Liaison, you have been entrusted with a vital role in the fight for liberty. You will be
working with your state team to raise public awareness of COS activity through various media
outlets.

All of this is not done by one. It is a team effort. You will be working closely with your state
director, state communications coordinator, and other team members within your state. Always
keep in communication with your team. The state team is in place to serve your needs and be
successful.

In this manual, you will find a wealth of information to equip you to handle most situations. It is
not intended to be all that you need. Rather, it should give you basic guidelines and principles for
you to use. Some other sources of support and training you can use are:

1. COSU University.\\ 2. Your State Team. There are likely many seasoned leaders on your state team, in addition

to your Regional Director, who can help answer questions and provide support, direction,
and mentorship as you grow into this role.

3. Our website. There is a vast amount of content you can look through on our website,

which gives you ideas and examples of content that is being used across our organization.

Important: As you get started, remember to take it one step at a time. Learning how to be an
effective activist when you have never done something like this before can feel overwhelming at

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background image first. Make sure you take time to stop and enjoy the feeling of being a part of something historic
and of monumental importance. You are helping save the country for yourself, your loved ones,
and generations of Americans to come.

Make COS part of your weekly routine. Set aside the time you have for COS and invest that time
week after week and month after month, and you will look back and be amazed at all you were
able to accomplish.

Responsibilities:
Each state’s Media Liaison is charged with communicating the Convention of States to your state
and local communities. Work closely with your State Director and State Communications
Coordinator.

Your job as a Media Liaison includes

● Pitching, following, and securing mentions, features, and interviews with your local

radio, television, and print media.

● Follow up on all requests for interviews by any media outlet in your state.
● Highlight the activities of the grassroots within your state.

○ Events/Townhalls
○ Rallies
○ Legislative hearings

● Create and maintain an accurate database of media outlets in your state.
● Join your state Slack workspace and the Comms Team Slack workspace.

○ You will be sent invitations to each. Accept them as soon as you get them.

● As a trusted news source for your state, timely follow-up is the highest priority for

building a solid relationship as a news source.

● Expected time commitment averages 1- 3 hours per week.

Getting Started
On-the-job training is the best way to grow your skills as a Media Liaison. If you can remember
that excellent communications and reliable information are your best tools, then you are perfectly
poised to be a trusted media resource for the Convention of States in your state.
Think of yourself as ‘Storyteller-in-Chief” for Convention of States. Telling stories provide
memorable examples of how Convention of States is making a difference. Stories persuade and
motivate others, including grassroots and supporters. Great storytelling transcends time, culture
and news.

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background image The “Getting Started Checklist” is a guideline for you to easily grasp the first steps in your new
role as Media Liaison. To develop, maintain and grow media relationships and outreach in your
state here are the first steps,
Before you reach out to the media:

● Have a one-on-one call with your State Director and/or State Communications

Coordinator

● Know where your state is in the legislative process of the Convention of States

resolution.

● Create goals for utilizing the media to accomplish your state’s strategy goals.
● Call your State Capitol Press Office and ask if they have a media list for reporters who

cover state government. If they do, ask them if you could get a copy of it.

● Know the top issues in your state, i.e. forestry, private property, energy, mining, water,

etc. You will learn how to apply state concerns to the COS solution.

● Create your personal “elevator pitch” on the Convention of States message.

Making Contact:

● Television - Call the news assignment editor first and share your elevator pitch with

them.

○ Ask them how they would prefer to receive your release or advisory.

● Radio - Start with an email to the show producer or call the station news director and ask

how they prefer to receive pitches for guests?

● Print - Call the editorial editor or opinion editor to ask them two questions:

○ What is the Letters to the Editor (LTTE) or opinion max length?
○

What email address is best to submit your written piece?

The Media Liaison's role is to lead them to discuss and report favorably about Convention of
States.

Media Examples
Examples of Press Releases and Letters to the Editor:
Press Release Example
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Your Name
C: Your Phone; Your Email

HOW TO PERMANENTLY DRAIN THE SWAMP – A CONVERSATION WITH SENATOR
JIM DEMINT & CONVENTION OF STATES PRESIDENT MARK MECKLER

“Our Republic has never been in greater need of getting back to Founding principles than today,”
Senator Jim DeMint

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background image PITTSBURGH, PA Sept. 14— Former Senator Jim DeMint, Senior Adviser to the Convention of
States and Convention of States President Mark Meckler, a contributor on Fox News Channel,
Fox Business Channel, The Hill, Daily Caller, among others, will be speaking on how ‘We the
People’ can use Article V of the Constitution to restore the balance of power between the states
and federal government on Tuesday, Sept. 19 at 7:00 p.m. ET, at the Pittsburgh Marriott North in
Cranberry Township. The event is free, but you must register.

Senator DeMint and Meckler will address the following:

● Washington, D.C. is broken and has no intention to fix itself
● Elections alone cannot fix the problem
● NOW is the time for a limited Article V Convention of States
● How the process works and the history of Article V
● How you can help

When: Tuesday, September 19, 2018
Time: 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm EDT
Where: Pittsburgh Marriott North, 100 Cranberry Woods Dr., Cranberry Township, PA
Although the Constitution established a framework for limited federal power and expansive
personal freedoms, self-interested politicians and activist court rulings have destroyed
federalism. The Constitution provides a way for the states to take control from Washington
insiders and corrupt politicians and give it back to the people in their states.
Jim DeMint served in the U.S. House of Representatives for South Carolina’s Fourth
Congressional District from 1999-2005. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004 and served as
one of South Carolina’s senators until he resigned in 2012 to become President of the Heritage
Foundation. With 18 years of political experience working both inside and outside Congress,
DeMint offers a wealth of wisdom and insight to the volunteer grassroots armies that are
reaching every state legislature in the country with the Convention of States message: We CAN
take our power back.
About Convention of States:
Convention of States is currently organized in all 50 states, including over 5 million volunteers,
supporters, and advocates committed to stopping the federal government’s abuse of power.
Fifteen states, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Indiana, Louisiana, Oklahoma,
Arizona, North Dakota, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, Utah, and Mississippi have passed our
Article V resolution since the Project’s founding in 2013. This year, thirty-one states considered
the Convention of States resolution. For more information, visit www.ConventionofStates.com.
*Convention of States is a Project of Citizens for Self-Governance, a 501 ©(3) organization*

END

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background image Opinion Editorial Example:
Inside the beltway, otherwise known as ‘the swamp,’ is where our Liberty and our Republic rot
away in the muck.
Who are the denizens of this Swamp? Establishment legislators, unelected bureaucrats,
mainstream media, activist judges, and the deep state all feel comfortable in the murky swamp;
for those of us living outside the beltway in ‘Realville,’ the swamp stinks.

Establishment legislators run to get re-elected, not actually fixing the things constituents

elect them to accomplish. Since 2010, nothing has changed except the management of the
swamp.

Unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats author millions of pages of regulations. All

designed to take away freedom, limit business growth and stifle the power of the individual.

The mainstream media publishes “news to confuse” and what fits the “anti-everything”

agenda. Fake news props up the status quo in Washington, not the people on Main Street, USA.
Activist judges legislate personal political agendas to gain favor instead of court decisions built
on constitutional bedrock.
The Deep State? Those are the swamp dwellers who think they run the federal government and
arrogantly believe they should be making our decisions because we are either too dumb or too
naïve to understand. Neither Trump nor a single political party can ‘deep six’ the ‘deep state.
Thankfully, America’s Founders knew that the swamp would eventually grow too big, too dirty,
and too corrupt for its own good. The swamp is incapable of fixing itself. The Constitution holds
the key –the legal authority for citizens to save the nation under Article V.
The only way to protect liberty, restore the Republic and return local control to the citizens of
their states and communities is by calling a Convention of States. Article V authorizes two ways
to propose amendments—the first by the Congress, the second by the States. The time is now for
citizens to unite and act to save the nation. Learn more by visiting
www.ConventionofStates.com.

Letter to the Editor Example 1
Dear Editor,
The federal government has grown too large; they have flooded local governments with
regulations and mandates. They’ve left us and our posterity with a crippling federal debt. With
all this over-regulation, we’ve given up our choices– we’ve given up our liberty! Let’s stand up
and say, “We’ve had enough!”
The Tenth Amendment to the US Constitution states, “The powers not delegated to the United
States by Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively,
or to the people.” Federal funding and most court interpretations of the Tenth Amendment have
served to keep state power in check.
If thirty-four (34) states call for a Convention of States, as outlined in Article V of the
Constitution, the states can propose amendments to the Constitution. Think of the possibilities

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background image that will never take place today in Washington, DC. 1) State and federal powers could be more
clearly enumerated. 2) Term limits could be set for Congress. 3) A balanced budget amendment
could be proposed. Any proposed amendment would require the approval of three-quarters of the
states. The Convention of States is the final safeguard left to us by our Founding Fathers, who
knew that one day we may need to impose fiscal restraints or limit the powers of the federal
government. Ten states have already passed legislation asking for a Convention of States. We
need Texas and twenty-three more.
Use it … or lose it! Will we continue to lose more liberty? Check out www.cosaction.com
Example 2
PUBLISHED CASPER, WY LTTE (2017)
Editor:
I wish President-elect Trump and the Republican Congress luck in unraveling the mess left by
the unconstitutionally unilateral actions of the Obama administration, in undoing the disaster
known as Obamacare, and defanging the ever-growing list of overreaching federal regulations.
One thing they can’t do is reverse the activism of federal judges, 40 percent of whom are now
Obama appointees. Senate Democrat Leader Schumer has stated that Democrats will filibuster
judges they believe are “out of the mainstream.” He’ll likely succeed, given Republicans’ polite
deference to the minority as embodied in the filibuster rule. Democrat Harry Reid previously
invoked a “nuclear option” to exclude from this rule all judicial nominees below the Supreme
Court level. The Republicans probably won’t follow suit even though they should.

In Article V of the Constitution, the Framers provided an antidote to federal overreach using an

alternate manner of constitutional amendment – a Convention of States (COS). Such a
convention can be called if a majority of state legislatures so vote. A bill is being prepared in the
Wyoming legislature to join a growing number of states in calling for such a convention.
Although many objections have been forthcoming as to the COS, many are unfounded. Now all
Wyoming legislators will have a chance to learn directly about this project from its founders and
key proponents – constitutional attorney and scholar Mark Meckler and former U.S. Senator
Tom Coburn – both of whom will be available for a meet-and-greet in Cheyenne on Jan. 23.
Let’s hope our legislators will avail themselves of this opportunity to discuss the COS with those
who know most about it. Valid factual information should always trump uninformed innuendo
and lack of knowledge.
Meanwhile, we can all read “The Liberty Amendments” by constitutional attorney and
conservative commentator Mark Levin, and consult the COS website: conventionofstates.com.
This is an idea whose time has come, as the Framers suspected it one day would.

Legal Limits On Your Volunteer Activity
Convention of States represents a significant threat to the established powers in Washington,
D.C. They would love nothing better than to shut us down and silence our voices. We need to

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background image keep our activities clean under the law to ensure they can't do that. As part of this, COS requires
all state leaders to complete the Legal Training Course at COS University.

Organizational Information
Who Are Citizens for Self-Governance, Convention of States Foundation, and Convention
of States Action, and How Are They Related to Convention of States?

Mark Meckler, a co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots, founded Citizens for Self-Governance
(CSG) to promote the ideals of the Tea Party beyond the partisan divide. CSG encourages the
principle of self-governance by educating citizens about their constitutional rights and defending
individuals and groups unjustly targeted by the government.

In August 2013, CSG founded the Convention of States Project to educate citizens about a
little-known but very potent power in Article V of the Constitution. Convention of States Action
(COSA) was created a little over a year later in late 2014 when it became clear that Convention
of States would require a massive legislative effort to get applications passed in 34 states.

In 2018, CSG filed to operate under the name Convention of States Foundation (COSF) to
establish more consistent messaging and make it clear how CSG was connected to the
Convention of States movement. CSG and COSF are just two names for the same organization.
CSG/COSF continues to be involved with COS by promoting the idea of a convention and
educating citizens about their constitutional power in Article V. Most of the COSis now under
COSA, which works to get the COS application passed in 34 states.

Why Have Two Different Organizations?

We have two different organizations because of how the IRS regulates nonprofit organizations.
The IRS allows different types of nonprofits to engage in different kinds of activity. According
to the IRS, COSF is a 501©(3) nonprofit organization, which means that it can educate people
about their constitutional rights but can’t promote legislation to protect those rights or get
involved in supporting or opposing candidates. COSA is a 501©(4) nonprofit organization
which can promote legislation and support or oppose some candidates as long as it does so in
accord with state and federal laws .

There are all kinds of technical differences between 501©(3) organizations like COSF and
501©(4) organizations like COSA. However, the main one you need to understand is that COSF
can’t promote legislation and absolutely can’t promote or oppose candidates, but COSA can.
COSA can talk to legislators about the COS application, collect petitions, host legislative
strategy sessions, and engage in other activities to promote the COS application. COSF cannot.

How Does This Affect You?
Most of your volunteer activity will be for COSA, so you won’t have to worry about the limit on
promoting legislation most of the time. But every so often, you may be asked to support or assist
with an event or activity sponsored by COSF. When working on a COSF event or activity, you’ll
need to remember that you can’t collect petitions, discuss legislative strategy, display COSA

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background image materials or banners, or otherwise try to persuade people to support COSA’s specific application.
When working for COSF, you can educate people about their constitutional rights, including
those in Article V, and respond to frequent objections like claims that a convention would “run
away.”

One More Limit: No Campaigning under COSF!
Promoting or opposing political candidates is strictly prohibited for COSF and is only allowed
for COSA if specifically approved by the COSA National Legal Team. COSF cannot do any
campaigning ever. COSA can only campaign if it complies with many state and federal laws and
regulations governing campaign activity. As a COS volunteer, you can only tell people how they
should vote in the next election if you receive explicit permission from the national legal team.
You can’t send out an email to our volunteers in your district asking them to support a candidate,
oppose a candidate, volunteer for a candidate’s campaign, or join a political party. You should
not do anything even close to the line–don’t do anything that could be construed as supporting a
particular candidate or political party without checking with COSA’s Legal Team. The
prohibition against expressing a political view is an absolute rule that we strictly enforce because
any violation will jeopardize the organization’s nonprofit status.

If you want to do a limited campaigning effort in your state through COSA, please contact your
RD. The COSA Legal Team will check the laws in your state and determine if you can proceed.
If the Legal Team approves campaigning in your state, they will issue detailed instructions about
how to comply with the law. Make sure you carefully review these instructions before engaging
in any election-related activity

This restriction only applies when you actively volunteer for COS or use COS resources
(including the CitizenBuilder database). You are entirely free to support any candidates or
political parties you wish with your own time and resources.

Who Do I Contact If I Have Questions?
If you would like to get in touch with our legal team about specific questions, please reach out to
your State Director or Regional Director, who will be able to direct your inquiry to the right
place.

Continuing Education
We have many resources available. Here are a few to get you started:

● Our Resource Page is the best source to learn more, and we encourage you to visit often.
● Here are a series of short articles on various topics.\\ ● We have hundreds of educational and inspirational videos available on our YouTube

Channel.

● COSUniversity offers online training courses.
● Hundreds of research articles and historical documents can be found on our Wiki site.\\ ●

COS Briefing Book.

●

The Law of Article V by Robert G. Natelson

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background image Personal Development
“If you want to grow and become the best person you can be, you’ve got to be intentional about
it. Many unsuccessful people who try to lead others have the mistaken belief that people will
follow them because their cause is good. But that’s not the way leadership works. People will
follow you when they believe in you.” - John Maxwell