Please read through this long piece, and let me know your thoughts on the "ANGEL Corps"
Angelians:
If you've been wanting to help out, but haven't yet, now here's your chance.
We're needing to find people who'd like to get involved locally, and/or online. We need people on the ground, all over the globe, who can help organize their friends and neighbors to write letters and postcards, to make calls and send faxes. We also need supporters in the major urban markets: New York, Chicago, Dallas, DC, LA... plus in the cool big college towns like Austin (my old stomping grounds!), Boston, Madison, Lawrence and others that I'm forgetting. The Nielsens do a terrible job of counting college students... and they're among the big audience for the show!
And no, I'm not leaving out the rest of the world! All of you great Angel fans in the UK, in Europe, in Australia and all points of the compass: we also need you to get organized locally, too.
So today, I'm announcing the formation of the ANGEL Corps.
Those who join up, will be the "corps" of the campaign. The footsoldiers in the war to Save Angel's Soul. Corps responsibilities will be to promote, promote and...yes...promote! We're going to do it semi-military style --although, not para-military. There will be no weapons handed out for this campaign, except for maybe some wit and cool graphics.
The principal idea is for the Corps members in each region to work together during the next number of weeks. It's not a huge time commitment. What I envision is getting a some new friends together, perhaps right before the weekly showing of Angel, to write up postcards, create Angel awareness drives, and generally have fun. Use whatever means you come up with, and share your ideas with the rest of us.
For resident of the Americas, this will consist of:
* Contacting your regional media: radio, newspapers and weeklies to push the show Angel and its formerly "silent" fan base. You can usually find their contact information on their Web site (who doesn't have one of those these days?)
* Pressuring the local WB affiliate by sending them cards, emails and the usual drill.
* Telling all your friends that you've just gone and joined an Angel cult, and that the only way to deprogram you will be to watch the show on Wednesday (This is optional if you are already the member of an actual Angel cult.)
If you need help finding people in your areas who are fellow Angelians, check out "Meetup.com" for regional listings.
For our friends worldwide who like me, get Angel syndicated by cable/satellite:
* Get in touch with your local Angel broadcaster, by phone, email or
postcard/letter (a fax isn't a bad idea, either!).
* Tell them how much you appreciate that they purchased the syndicated
episodes of Angel
* Let them know that the show is a big part of why you watch their
network/station.
* Explain to them how extremely disappointed you would be if they were not able to show new episodes.
* Request that they pressure 20th Century Fox Television Productions (the producing company) and demonstrate that there is a demand for the product overseas. If 20th Century-Fox knows that there are already broadcasters willing to pay for the syndication rights, then they'll be more inclined to explore other options.
And I leave you with this thought: a tree gets its nutrients from the soil, and its energy from the sun. What does this bizarre metaphor mean to the Angel Campaign? I'm only one person... I can give you ideas, provide direction and act as a cheerleader, but I can't do all the work myself. It has to come from you... getting out there in your own way to save the show.
I know you can do it.
Keep Angel Alive!
Simon