Maida Owens is a folklorist who serves as director of the Louisiana Folklife Program, an important partner in the Bayou Culture Collaborative, along with the Louisiana Folklore Society, university centers and other non-profits. She researched efforts to address Louisiana’s coastal land loss

With the increase in online content, there are more and more opportunities for folklorists to write about their research for a general audience. Rather than convince a journalist to write a story about your work, you can write the story yourself. It

Op-eds offer folklorists a chance to weigh in on important issues that can be informed by the work we do. The general rules of writing for the mass media apply here, including ensuring that our writing is clear, jargon-free, brief, makes a

Writing to your local newspaper can be an effective way to draw attention to a local issue. Letters to the editor are shown to be among the most-read sections of a newspaper, and are often read by government officials to get a

Press releases remain an excellent way to get your story to the media. But journalists typically receive dozens of press releases daily. Crafting your story for a particular media outlet is crucial to getting it picked up.  Ideally, a press release will

Bad interviews are easy; good ones not so much. Here you’ll find some strategies for giving interviews that result in you actually showing up in the story and being called on again for future stories. TIPS FOR GIVING GOOD INTERVIEWS Prepare: Offering

The Society received a two-year grant from the Teagle Foundation as part of its “Big Questions and the Disciplines” initiative. The Foundation received over 60 pre-applications, invited 15 applicants to submit full proposals, and funded five organizations nationwide. This initiative provides grants to support

AFS managed four two-year grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to create a scholarly edition of the James Madison Carpenter Collection, a groundbreaking collection of folk music, song, drama, dance, narrative, and children’s folklore documented in England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland

A familiarity with several key words and phrases will help you understand the landscape of public policy around your issue and communicate effectively about the issue with legislators.  Key Legislative Terms Source: National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) Appropriations Bill A

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