On Media Coverage
One of the issues that we discussed was whether the Centre should try to raise its public profile. In my experience, to be effective, a non-profit has to have a certain visibility -- otherwise, it is impossible to get people (funders, government officials, potential partners, etc) to return your phone calls. At the same time, it is easy to confuse media attention with impact -- not every agency that appears in the papers on a regular basis is actually doing a good job. I also like the old quotation, attributed to Harry Truman, that goes something like this: "It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit." Indeed, at the Center for Court Innovation we often make the strategic decision to cede public credit to our partners, particularly those in the public sector.
But not always. In recent months, we have sought to attract more attention to some of our research reports. These efforts seem to be paying off, including a New York Times story by Jim Dwyer ("Turning Lives Around and Saving Money") and an Associated Press story by Jake Pearson ("Easing NY's Tough Drug Laws Saves Money") on our study of the impact of New York's Rockefeller Drug Law reforms.
Here are some other recent press clips:
