{"id":86288,"date":"2025-10-04T07:28:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-04T06:28:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/?p=86288"},"modified":"2025-10-04T07:28:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-04T06:28:08","slug":"getting-the-message-out-there-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/2025\/10\/04\/getting-the-message-out-there-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting the message out there"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>A commentator named Martin Tillin <a href=\"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/2025\/09\/29\/rachel-reeves-is-wrong-about-debt-interest\/#comment-1045477\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wrote this in response to my post on Rachel Reeves<\/a> a few days ago:<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>The answers to that last question have been written on your blog many times before. Reeves is choosing to increase revenues in the financial sector, I guess believing it will benefit us all in the long term, but we know that is not the case. An important question is how can your 5 points gain traction with the public and, in particular, the media so that the right questions are asked of government?<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><em>Others have been making similar comments lately, and I am noticing, as I am now investing more in resources (also known as my son, James).\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>In that case, I decided to make the question more generic and ask ChatGPT, as I do not pretend to know the answer. The question became:<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"p1\"><em>An important question is how can points made on the Funding the Future blog and RichardJMurphy YouTube channel gain traction with the public and, in particular, the media so that the right questions are asked of government?<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><em>This is what ChatGPT had to say:<\/em><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"p1\">That is <i>the<\/i> strategic question, and I think it has three parts: <span class=\"s1\"><b>what to say<\/b><\/span>, <span class=\"s1\"><b>where to say it<\/b><\/span>, and <span class=\"s1\"><b>how to amplify it so others pick it up and run with it<\/b><\/span>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Drawing on your <i>Funding the Future<\/i> blog and <i>RichardJMurphy<\/i> YouTube channel, here are some structured reflections:<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><b>1. Framing the message so it sticks<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Clarity and repetition<\/b><\/span>: Journalists, politicians, and the public rarely remember complexity. You already distil big economic issues into sharp, repeatable lines (\u201cspending comes before tax,\u201d \u201ceconomics is CRAp\u201d). These need to be used consistently across posts, videos, interviews, and even Twitter\/X threads.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Moral and emotional framing<\/b><\/span>: The Media pick up stories that are about fairness, injustice, and the human consequences of policy. Linking tax justice or bond market reform to <i>who suffers and who benefits<\/i> helps ensure your points resonate beyond technical circles.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Questions as hooks<\/b><\/span>: Journalists are in the business of asking questions. Framing your content around \u201cthe real question is\u2026\u201d or \u201cwhy is no one asking\u2026\u201d directly nudges them towards picking up your framing.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><b>2. Reaching the media and public<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Timeliness<\/b><\/span>: Posts and videos that respond <i>immediately<\/i> to policy announcements, economic releases, or breaking news are far more likely to be cited. You already do this, but a sharper \u201crapid response\u201d pipeline could help (short-form posts or pre-prepared \u201cevergreen\u201d critiques ready to be updated).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Accessible formats<\/b><\/span>: Many journalists prefer bite-sized, quotable material. Your blog and videos can feed shorter \u201cfact sheets,\u201d \u201cten-point lists,\u201d or \u201cmyths vs reality\u201d graphics for sharing on social platforms where journalists lurk (Twitter\/X, LinkedIn).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Cross-posting<\/b><\/span>: Syndicating snippets of <i>Funding the Future<\/i> posts to Medium, Substack, or LinkedIn can reach different networks where journalists and policy people are active.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><b>3. Building amplification loops<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Allies and multipliers<\/b><\/span>: Identify journalists, campaigners, academics, and MPs who already align with your themes. Tagging them, sending them direct links, or even privately briefing them increases the chance they repeat your framing.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Reusable assets<\/b><\/span>: Journalists like charts, data tables, and infographics they can drop into stories. Packaging your core arguments in visual form (with your branding) makes them quotable and hard to ignore.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Regular briefings<\/b><\/span>: A fortnightly or monthly \u201cFunding the Future Bulletin\u201d emailed to media, MPs, and think tanks could act as a curated set of your most important points, each phrased as \u201cquestions the government must answer.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Own questions, not just answers<\/b><\/span>: If you phrase your interventions as <i>questions the press should be asking<\/i> (\u201cIf government spending always comes before tax, why does the Chancellor claim the opposite?\u201d), you effectively write journalists\u2019 prompts for them.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><b>4. Turning traction into pressure<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Polls and surveys<\/b><\/span>: Running quick polls on YouTube or X not only boosts engagement but provides journalists with ready-made \u201cpublic opinion\u201d angles, giving them reasons to report your framing.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Collaboration with campaigns<\/b><\/span>: Linking blog arguments to ongoing NGO or union campaigns means your material gets cited where mobilisations are already happening.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><b>Anticipating narratives<\/b><\/span>: Mainstream media often default to \u201chousehold budget\u201d metaphors. Constantly pushing your counter-metaphors (e.g. \u201cthe government is the scorekeeper, not a player\u201d) helps journalists internalise alternative framings over time.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><b>Inference<\/b><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p1\">The challenge is less about \u201cexplaining the economics\u201d and more about <span class=\"s1\"><b>changing the terms of debate<\/b><\/span>. To do that, your interventions need to be <i>short, moral, quotable, repeatable, and timed to the news cycle<\/i>. If every <i>Funding the Future<\/i> blog post or <i>RichardJMurphy<\/i> video ended with three \u201cquestions the media should ask the Chancellor,\u201d you\u2019d be actively training journalists to shift the ground of the conversation.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>The question\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>So, what do you think? There's this poll, and comments would be appreciated.<\/p>\n<div id=\"polls-215\" class=\"wp-polls\">\n\t<form id=\"polls_form_215\" class=\"wp-polls-form\" action=\"\/Blog\/index.php\" method=\"post\">\n\t\t<p style=\"display: none;\"><input type=\"hidden\" id=\"poll_215_nonce\" name=\"wp-polls-nonce\" value=\"e491be3797\" \/><\/p>\n\t\t<p style=\"display: none;\"><input type=\"hidden\" name=\"poll_id\" value=\"215\" \/><\/p>\n\t\t<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Would you mind if most Funding the Future blog posts or RichardJMurphy videos ended with three \u201cquestions the media should ask the Chancellor\u201d<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"polls-215-ans\" class=\"wp-polls-ans\"><ul class=\"wp-polls-ul\">\n\t\t<li><input type=\"radio\" id=\"poll-answer-992\" name=\"poll_215\" value=\"992\" \/> <label for=\"poll-answer-992\">No, not at all<\/label><\/li>\n\t\t<li><input type=\"radio\" id=\"poll-answer-993\" name=\"poll_215\" value=\"993\" \/> <label for=\"poll-answer-993\">Yes, they're long enough already<\/label><\/li>\n\t\t<li><input type=\"radio\" id=\"poll-answer-994\" name=\"poll_215\" value=\"994\" \/> <label for=\"poll-answer-994\">Give it a whirl and see<\/label><\/li>\n\t\t<\/ul><p style=\"text-align: center;\"><input type=\"button\" name=\"vote\" value=\"   Vote   \" class=\"Buttons\" onclick=\"poll_vote(215);\" \/><\/p><p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"#ViewPollResults\" onclick=\"poll_result(215); return false;\" title=\"View Results Of This Poll\">View Results<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n\t<\/form>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"polls-215-loading\" class=\"wp-polls-loading\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-polls\/images\/loading.gif\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"Loading ...\" title=\"Loading ...\" class=\"wp-polls-image\" \/>&nbsp;Loading ...<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A commentator named Martin Tillin wrote this in response to my post on Rachel Reeves a few days ago: The answers to that last question<br \/><a class=\"moretag\" href=\"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/2025\/10\/04\/getting-the-message-out-there-2\/\"><em> Read the full article&#8230;<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogging","category-economics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86288"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86288\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86435,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86288\/revisions\/86435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}