How can I help improve media coverage of rape? If you live in the NYC area, join the NYC Media Response team! The NYC Media Response team is a streamlined system by which volunteers monitor and respond to NYC media coverage of rape on a daily basis. Email Emily to find out how to sign up. No matter where you live, visit our Media Response page to learn more about the issue and to access tools to help you respond to any media misrepresentation of rape that you see. How can I improve media coverage of rape in MY community? Organizing a Community Print Project is a powerful and effective way to raise awareness about rape in your own community, while providing a supportive space for survivors of rape to tell their own stories. Take Back The News will send you a free Community Print Project Kit to help you get started! If you have input into the programs at a university, you could also begin a College Writing Project, which is a comprehensive program for rape survivors to tell their stories in well-constructed narratives to a supportive audience. I don't have much time, but is there anything I can do to help? Take Back The News exists because of the generosity of donors. You can make a tax-deductible contribution online through our homepage, or send a check made payable to Take Back The News, Inc. to: Take Back The News PO Box 110-945 Brooklyn, NY 11211 Or purchase Take Back The News stickers, totes, or t-shirts! You'll be donating to the cause and helping to spread the word! Why should a survivor submit her/his story to the project? The true impact of Take Back The News stems from survivors’ willingness to share their stories with the public. The most effective way to counter misconceptions is with truth. Our stories are our truth, and they need to be told. For more thoughts on this, read the invitation to survivors. Can I reprint these stories in my publication? You cannot reprint any of the stories published at takebackthenews.org without the explicit permission of the author. To obtain permission, email Emily. Why was Take Back The News started? The media plays a powerful role in shaping public perception--especially as more and more media sources bombard Americans at every turn. However, most Americans do not have a clear perception of what rape is and how rape really affects people. We believe this is largely due to a widespread misrepresentation of rape in mainstream media. Our assumption at Take Back the News is that media sources attempt a fair and objective reporting of rape cases, but the fact remains that their actual reporting instead perpetuates myths about rape--distorting rather than clarifying perceptions, adding to the shame and secrecy surrounding rape, and ultimately creating a society in which rape still is acceptable. We firmly believe that if public perception about rape were to change, then there would be less rapes in our world. This is why we seek to Take Back the News. Is Take Back the News related to Take Back The Night? While there is no organizational link between the two projects, Take Back The News is an empowering addition to a Take Back The Night event.