Online Lessons Learned From “Stop AETA”
This paper circles back to the time when the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act was introduced to Congress in 2005 and unpacks the online response by animal advocates. It outlines why—despite opposition coming from more than 250 groups—the animal protection community failed to successfully lobby against this legislation and garner significant mainstream media coverage. As part of this effort, the authors analyzed websites belonging to groups that were part of the “Stop AETA” coalition and offer recommendations for improving communications strategies for advocacy in cyberspace.
[Abstract excerpted from original source.]
“After the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA) was introduced to Congress in 2005, animal rights organizations joined efforts to advocate against the legislation. Their efforts failed even though more than 250 groups across the nation joined together to lobby against the act. To evaluate the communication strategies and media relations efforts of these organizations, a content analysis of randomly sampled advocacy group Web sites was conducted. Of the 122 ‘Stop AETA’ organizations in the sample, 82% had a Web site though only 36% of those organizations with Web sites had organized online press rooms to promote their causes. This paper examines the implications of advocacy communication in a virtual environment and recommends strategies for improving the media relations efforts.”