Authored by Liz Banse, Senior Program Director
How to win in the court of public opinion by focusing on the issues, not the legal process
The scene: Your nonprofit organization filed suit against a company or the government (Choose Your Own Adventure!). Your goal was to both win in the court and in the court of public opinion. You won! In the court, that is. But the headline in your local news outlet reads, “X organization sues … ” or “Injunction granted in the X case.”
In some cases, that is exactly the headline you want, but in other cases, such headlines are actually detrimental to your cause because your organization comes off as obstructing progress, or an “institutionalist” with formidable resources. These are cases where strategic framing is just as important as strategic litigation. This tipsheet is designed to help you win your case, where the public is the judge.
First, no matter who is in power, effective legal action will continue to be critical in protecting our neighbors, our communities, and our lands and waters. Filing lawsuits is fundamental to protecting our communities, using the rule of law to reign in powerful overreach.
Resource Media is here to help you navigate those situations where media coverage and social media attention of your lawsuit can come with an unanticipated price; i.e., overshadowing the values at stake through stories that highlight the legal process in ways that frame your organization as blocking, not advancing progress in a community. Perhaps it is because you are framed as the “overdog,” rather than the underdog. Or as an organization that is denying locals economic opportunity through the jobs promised by a corporation wanting to begin extractive operations in a rural community, or any other situation.
How do you still file a needed lawsuit, and also design a communications strategy and shape the media and online content that helps you secure a second win in the court of public opinion?
Get at the “Why”: At the heart of your message around your lawsuit is the answer to the question, “Why are you suing?” If you do not proactively shape the framing of your issue, the media and the public may end up framing it so that the central issue is defined as a legal question, rather than a social, environmental, economic or other community concern. State what you are fighting for, not just what you are fighting against (the process violations and the like).
The framing of a story is crucial because it defines how readers relate to the issue. A story about welfare can be framed so that the issue is personal character, or it can be framed so that the issue is barriers to education or the economy. A story about oil and gas drilling in the Rockies can be framed so that the issue is about national energy security, or it can be framed so that the issue is about the needless sacrifice of habitat precious to hunters and anglers, or how vital those lands are to farming and ranching. Have you defined the relevant issue for the public when they read about the litigation?
In other words, instead of framing to define which law is relevant, we need to define which issue is relevant.
Put a face on the issue: Issue-based framing requires you to put a human face on your fight. Who are the people affected by your issue? No, we don’t mean the lawyers! The media will gravitate toward the lawyers as the spokespeople for your side, but this will lead you down a legal framing path. Reporters will ask and most lawyers will talk about the legal process. You will see quotes about the failure to scope a project, or the failure to meet a deadline, and so on. If the media is not talking to the community affected by this issue, use your own channels to talk to the neighbor next door to the drilling pads, and you will hear a different story and evoke very different emotions in your audiences.
Name the values at stake: What is really at the heart of this lawsuit? Is it about differing visions for the future of this community? Is it about the community’s health, clean water, fairness and accountability, or another value? If the audience doesn’t perceive a problem, it’s difficult to position a lawsuit as the solution.
Start framing your issue early: Start creating content about the issue long before the courtroom action begins. Weave in your vision for the community. That way the real problem can be surfaced first, then litigation can be seen as a solution, not as part of the problem. Your articulated vision for the future is the end goal, not the legal case itself. Repeat your messages not just to the media, but reinforce them through every facet of your communications, from social media to e-newsletters to public hearings and fundraising appeals.
Build out the elements of compelling storytelling: Develop a story arc over time about your issue, rather than the legal process. Map out the four elements of a compelling story, rinse and repeat in your preemptive framing:
- Spokespeople: Your messengers carry your values-based messaging. If they are everyday people – be they farmers, healthcare workers, small business owners or others – they will be able to credibly appeal to your core concerns, and the concerns of your audiences. Their firsthand experience, their expertise, their perspective will make clear in a wildly different way why this lawsuit needed to happen than a lawyer ever will.
- Values-based messaging: Communicate about what is at stake, what are the likely impacts if this is done or not done. Avoid messages that just speak to the legal process. We care about the end result, not how we got there.
- Setting: Everyday voices on your organization’s lawsuit will change the setting of the story from the courtroom to their own backyards. A farmer can move a story to a field. A fisherman can move a story to a river or a fishing boat.
- Develop your story arc: Set the stage early with stories where you introduce the people and places impacted and the values at stake, like fairness or a community’s right to weigh in on a proposal. Then establish the conflict or threat to those people or places. Finally, identify a solution, and situate the legal action into that broader effort to protect those shared community values. The legal action can then be positioned as the solution, rather than as the problem. You are “doing right by the community” after having exhausted all other options available to your organization.
Imagine if the spokespeople are just lawyers, the message and the values center on the legal process, and the setting is the courtroom. All will work together to define the primary issue as a legal question, not the work your organization does on a daily basis, your mission, your impact on people and communities.
Know when to keep a low profile: Finally, there are times when keeping a low profile is the best move for your long-term positioning on both the issue and your organization. Examples of when there is a risk that potential news stories will hurt, rather than help your cause include:
- When coverage is likely to focus on the process and the he-said/she-said frame.
- There is a chance for significant political blowback in terms of counter-legal action or legislation where you decide it is simply not worth it for you to win on your issue over the long term.
- Where you can win without public attention and the risks that entails.
Prepare a public statement regardless: In any of these situations you will still need to prepare in advance for the possibility of media and public interest in your story as your opponents may create a media firestorm or online viral moment around the story. Prepare a public statement that highlights your values-based messaging, and have your coached spokespeople ready to respond to media inquiries should they pursue the story.
In summary, lawsuits are an important tool, but one that comes with potential blowback. Begin to build a narrative around your issue, and offer an alternate vision for your community, in advance of filing your first brief. That way, it’s as clear as you can make it that you are not using the courts as your first, but rather your last resort, after having sought change through other means in the political or other system. By the time you need to file a lawsuit, you will hopefully have a united community, broad and varied messages in online content and support from local news outlets, along with key elected officials.
If you do this well and early on, a favorably framed content strategy will reinforce the demand for a lawsuit, can even help you raise funds to hire the best attorneys and technical experts, and put pressure on your opponents to settle.
