This assignment is about your SMO’s (social movement organization) relationships

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This assignment is about your SMO’s (social movement organization) relationships with various organizational and institutional entities in its environment, including targets, allies, beneficiary and conscience constituents (see Ch. 16), the news media, agents of social control/public order (police, courts), legislatures and various opponents not otherwise specified (e.g., countermovements). It’s similar to Assignment 3 in asking about specific things your SMO does to achieve its goals, but different in focusing on how various external organizations and more loosely defined groups have responded to what your SMO has done; and then, what your SMO has done in response to these responses. All organizations – for-profit, nonprofit, professional, grassroots, radical, liberal, small, large, etc. – must adapt to changing conditions in their external environments – as well as to their own internal tensions – in order to survive and achieve their ends. What has this looked like for your SMO? Your SMO’s targets, allies; the media, countermovement organizations, and government entities may all do things in response to your SMO that alter the playing field on which your SMO operates, necessitating some kind of adaptive change in return.
Targets are those whose behavior your SMO seeks to change (or not to change). They can be individual people (e.g., CEOs, politicians or electoral candidates, officers of professional associations or trade groups, business owners, celebrities; corporations, colleges/universities, police departments, school boards, civil or criminal courts; or your SMO’s beneficiary constituency, or even potential recruits. Primary targets are usually closely tied to your SMO’s stated goals. Additional targets may emerge in response to your SMO’s activities – a vocal critic, for example. These are opponents, as are countermovement organizations. Your SMO may respond to the aforementioned critic’s remarks, making that person a target, if only in the short-term. The same applies to countermovement organizations.
Allies can be other organizations that your SMO partners with (whether intermittently or regularly), actual or potential conscience constituents, or public figures like celebrities and politicians (see my notes on Ch. 16: Social Movement Organizations for a description particularly of conscience constituents). The main identifying characteristic of allies is that they support your SMO in some way by providing labor, money, meeting space, access to targets or influencers, etc. – i.e., resources your SMO needs in order to persist. Importantly, allies are not those who would benefit from your SMO achieving its goals (i.e., its beneficiary constituency). Allies do not derive support from your SMO but provide support to it. Here it’s important to bear in mind that resources are not only material things like money or labor, but also symbolic things like public endorsements, legitimacy, etc.
Media. Many SMO actions — rallies, marches, vigils, etc. – are done with an eye to attracting media attention. Therefore, the media are another critically important “player” on the SM field that your SMO almost certainly interacts with in some way. Social movement scholars typically conceptualize “the media” as print or TV news outlets, but social media may also be relevant to your SMO. Discuss how your SMO is portrayed by the media, how it regards this portrayal, and anything it does in response to media coverage – does it attempt to amplify or modify it in any way? Also consider whether media attention leads to internal organizational tensions or disputes. For example, a positive portrayal may result in an unexpected influx of resources, which, in turn, could lead to disagreements over goals or tactics. Any sudden change in an SMO’s fortunes – positive or negative – is likely to cause or exacerbate such tensions or disputes.
If your SMO very small, extremely local or newly established, it may not receive media attention, or be able to attract it (it also may not want just yet). If this is the case, then discuss any concerted effort on the part of your SMO to cultivate public recognition or regard. For example, members may present themselves to religious congregations, block associations, unions, schools, etc; hand out flyers or brochures to passersby on the street; or participate in community events like street fairs. Whatever it does to get its message out to potential beneficiaries or allies is relevant here. What kind of response does your SMO’s outreach or public relations efforts receive? How does this response inform your SMO’s ongoing goal-related or resource mobilization efforts?
Professional journalists, bloggers, SMO members, other activists and ordinary people posting to social media all contribute to an SMO’s public portrayal, reputation, and ability to mobilize resources and produce changes in targets, so consider all of these as part of your analysis (though they may not all be relevant). I mention posting to social media because not every SMO uses the kinds of tactics that generate news coverage, for example, letter-writing campaigns, lobbying, etc. Your SMO may post information about its activities or the issues it addresses, or in response to relevant events, as a means of putting itself or staying in the public’s eye. If your SMO uses social media strategically in this or some other way, describe that with attention to whether the SMO considers it effective. If your SMO has received negative publicity, or generated controversy on social media, be sure to include attention to this and how your SMO responded to it. You will likely have to search various social media platforms to get at this kind of information if you can’t get it directly from your SMO.
Regarding information about your SMO’s interactions with mainstream news media, including newspapers and magazines, you will have to use a library database like ProQuest’s database of NY Times articles dating from 1980-present, or its historical newspaper archive. Go to https://library.hunter.cuny.edu/databases/type/11 for access. If your SMO has been in existence for more than 10 years and mainly uses direct action/disruptive tactics, choose one or two such actions to focus your analysis on.
Some specific dynamics and relationships to consider (some of these are also presented above):
The pros and cons of receiving (or having received) support from prominent politicians, celebrities, or other high-profile or influential individuals and/or groups.
Partnerships – has your SMO worked with other SMOs in planning/executing any mass events or sustained campaigns? Consider how partnerships impact the work your SMO does.
The effects of media coverage on internal movement/SMO dynamics; for example, has news-media coverage resulted in a surge in membership? Do these new members have contrasting or even conflicting ideas about the SMO’s goals and tactics? How are these tensions resolved?
Counter-movements and repressive states, or relations with adversaries. Has your SMO been stymied by restrictions imposed on it by state actors (e.g., law enforcement)? Has your SMO had to address the actions of opposing SMOs in some way? For example, has it had to clarify its position or change its tactics in response to (or in advance of expected) counter-movement activity?
Your write-ups should be 3-4 pages in length, double-spaced, with 1-inch margins on all sides. Include a list of sources. Use whichever standard bibliographic and in-line citation style you like (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.), just be sure to use it consistently. Bibliographies/references SHOULD BE SINGLE SPACED AND YOUR SOURCES SHOULD BE LISTED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER. Please do not put them on a separate page but start your list a line or two below your final paragraph.

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