One year ago, Nebraska media organizations launched a campaign designed to better educate Nebraskans on the First Amendment.
Today, more than 20 other state broadcast associations and/or press associations are asking their respective members to carry the campaign with creative that has been updated for use across the country.
Launched in summer 2018, the “Think F1rst” campaign is designed to educate Americans about the five freedoms guaranteed in the First Amendment.
More than 20 state broadcast associations and state press associations have now asked their respective members to consider supporting the “Think F1rst” campaign on a pro bono basis.
The campaign will air on radio and television stations, in newspapers, and the websites and social media platforms of those same entities that opt to carry the messages, from August 1 through December 31.
The original “Think F1rst” Nebraska campaign was created after Media of Nebraska members noted polls showing that many Americans lacked even a basic knowledge of the First Amendment, particularly in articulating the five freedoms that it guarantees. In a civics survey taken by the Annenberg Public Policy Center, nearly 4 in 10 students couldn’t name even one of the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment. Media of Nebraska members worked together to outline a campaign to combat these statistics.
After “Think F1rst” debuted in Nebraska in 2018, the dedicated website www.ThinkFirstAmendment.org attracted more than 400,000 page views within 60 days.
“The reality is, we aren’t really free if we don’t know what our freedoms are and don’t exercise them,” said Ariel Roblin, Chairperson of the Nebraska Broadcasters Association and President/General Manager of Hearst-owned KETV-7 in Omaha. “Freedom is a mission of national importance. We’re proud to expand the opportunity to join this campaign to every state in our union.”
Allen Beermann, Executive Director of the Nebraska Press Association, added, “We felt so strongly about the importance of this message that the respective foundations of the Nebraska Press Association and Nebraska Broadcasters Association agreed to pay for the new creative to be used across the country. Preserving the First Amendment has now become a joint effort.”
The creative elements of the campaign were created by Clark Creative Group of Omaha, which also made an in-kind contribution to the production costs.
