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Before and After Cessation of Code Testing
AF6AY wrote:
Trying to talk up amateur radio to the general public requires being AWARE of what the general public knows, NOT what amateurs or membership organizations want. It isn't publicity to promote ham radio to the general public if all that is done is amateurs high-fiving one another on a "job well done." It isn't "well done" to the public if they reamin insular. Despite being an ARRL member, I cannot (in truth) say that the ARRL has gotten out to the public. If anything, NASA has done that much more on requesting astronauts to get Technician class licenses to talk to various public school groups from space. That's a NASA PR ploy to keep the public aware of NASA activities... and future NASA budgeting to keep the space biz going. Yup, NASA has gotten a lot more mileage out of the project than the ARS has. Walter Cronkhite as a narrator of an amateur radio video about amateur radio is fine. But, it can't just be shown to amateur radio clubs. It has to get OUT to the public. At least sell the idea of showing the video as a public service, something the stations are required to do. So what if the showing is in the wee small hours of the morning? SOME showing is better than NONE. Another suggestion. most Cable systems have public service channels. Amateur radio advocates should be able to tap into that. There is one caveat, and I go into this with a bit of sensitivity here. In my non-Ham life, I often put together productions that serve as advertisements. The old adage of putting your best foot forward is mandatory if you are going to get a message across. We often do not do that. You don't need - or even want - the smartest Ham on the block. What you need is an adept communicator. This erudite communicator needs to be "prettied up" for the prospective audience. Wearing a "Hooters" T-shirt ain't gonna cut it. I would probably wear a suit and tie (note not a white shirt and skinny black tie). Maybe lose the jacket after a few minutes. In similar form, we're trying to attract teenagers, we probably don't want a kid with a tattoo on his forehead and a safety pin in his lip. Why don't we want that local uberHam? In many (most?) cases they are not very good communicators.(note the difference between communicating and communicator) They are too close to the subject. If we're trying to demonstrate HF comms for the unfamiliar, they don't need a lecture on the third intercept point of whatever transceiver. Sometimes they want to show how smart they are more than try to attract people.. Wanna scare a prospective Ham away? Make them feel like they can do anything if they aren't an engineer. Focus the message, use a good communicator, and look approachable. - 73 de Mike KB3EIA - |
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