ARCHAEOLOGY IN THE SUNSHINE: GRASS ROOTS EDUCATION THROUGH THE MEDIA AND PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT

Jerald T. Milanich

Who is she that looketh forth as the dawn,

Fair as the moon,

Clear as the sun,

Terrible as an army with banners?

(Song of Songs, 6:10)

Introduction: An Army with Banners

It was Tuesday, May 19, 1987, and there was the headline on the front page of the New York Times' science section: "De Soto's Trail: Courage and Cruelty Come Alive." Pulitzer Prize-winning newsman John Noble Wilford's article had as a subheading, "What may be the most important site found so far is under study in Florida." The half-page lead article, including a montage of graphics, was continued on page 3.

All in all, Wilford's story covered nearly a full page of the New York Times. It was distributed in regional editions across the United States, where it was seen by more than a million people, including the governor and cabinet of the state of Florida who were meeting that same morning to consider an emergency plan to initiate the purchase and preservation of a portion of the Governor Martin site (the native Apalachee Indian village of Anhaica where the de Soto expedition wintered in 1539-1540; the privately-owned site, discovered by B. Calvin Jones of the Florida Division of Historical Resources, was threated by imminent development; the Division's excavations at the site were featured in the Times story). On that Tuesday morning, I estimate that the number of people who read and learned about the Hernando de Soto expedition and the importance of archaeology in understanding our past was greater than all the people who will read everything I and my colleagues will ever write, teach, or say about the archaeology of Hernando de Soto.

Education and the Media

If archaeology is ever going to have the impact of "an army with banners," we must utilize the media and the public's interest in our research activities as an integral part of public education efforts. If the archaeological community is going to be successful in efforts to preserve archaeological sites, establish and maintain adequate levels of funding for resource management, and make known the archaeological viewpoints on creationism and the necessity for curation of systematic collections, we must take advantage of the public's interest in our discipline. Guidelines and statements issued by professional organizations, lapel buttons, and conferences with archaeologists talking to one another are not going to do the job, nor is publically emphasizing archaeological resource management and site protection as our primary goals.

Instead, we need to go to the public and tell them about our research. We need to bring our discipline and the information we are excavating out into the sunshine. The best ways to do this are through the media and in conjunction with activities that involve the public. As we learned from the de Soto New York Times article and other similar articles, a single story about archaeology on local television or in a local newspaper or magazine will reach tens of thousands of people; a story that goes national will reach millions.

Yes, we need to continue to publish our data and interpretations in our journals, and yes, we need to continue to lobby for archaeological resource management and to devise and refine our theories and methods of site management. But to be successful in these endeavors we must attract and hold the public's attention, interest, and support. We need to take advantage of people's fascination with the past, something media professionals have learned a long time ago. Archaeological stories sell newspapers and boost ratings. Archaeological stories can also sell archaeology, including resource management. However, before people can see the worth of protecting the past, the utility of archaeology for illuminating that past must be accepted. The American Public must be aware of and identify with the non-anglo history of human societies in the United States.

How can an archaeologist who never took a course in public relations work with the media and the public to highlight archaeology? In this article I offer some methods and ideas that I and my colleagues in Florida have learned. Our skills in public relations are certainly not up to the standards of American politicians or corporations, but we are learning.

Most importantly, our efforts are paying dividends; archaeological research is booming in Florida, as is state-legislated funding. Working through the Florida Division of Historical Resources and with other state agencies, the archaeological community has been successful in pushing archaeological resource issues into the mainstream via laws and regulations. A number of significant sites have been purchased and are in public ownership. Some schools now have archaeological curricula and at least some state officials see the utility of archaeology for helping build tourism in the state.

It is no accident that these efforts correlate with a half-decade long media blitz. Over the last five years newspapers have had a very large number of archaeology stories that relate to specific Florida sites and topics (Windover, Fort Mose, San Luis and other Spanish missions, Hernando de Soto contact sites, archaeology and developers, Warm Mineral Springs, Cutler Ridge, and various sites in southwest Florida, Pensacola, and St. Augustine, to name some that have been featured; see Bense this volume for a discussion of archaeology and the media in Pensacola Florida). Legislators and state officials have supported archaeology in Florida because they, too, read the papers.

Fair as the Moon

Many archaeologists, perhaps most, are loathe to allow members of the public to visit sites during excavations. They also often work to avoid publicity. Reporters, both newspaper and television people, might reveal a site's location, leading to vandalism, or they might report facts in a manner not to the archaeologist's liking. What the media sees as important--something often is said to be "the oldest," "the first," or "the most important" ever found--is not necessarily what an archaeologist thinks is important (e.g., "our laboratory analysis is showing that 91% of the meat caloric intake is fish, not large mammal as previously surmised"). We can control graduate students and employees; we cannot control the media. Therefore, it is better to wait until the research is done, write our own press release or distribute a copy of our written report, and take no chances that we might appear silly on the nightly news.

This approach, one to which I used to adhere, probably accomplishes exactly the opposite of what is intended. Secrecy usually is interpreted by the public as meaning you are hiding something (gold, usually), leading to nocturnal visits and incidents of vandalism. And rumors about what might be going on at a site draws the interest of reporters who, as a result of brief, unstructured telephone calls with an archaeologist or land owner, are forced to write uniformed stories.

My approach changed five years ago while working near a small town in west-central Florida on a de Soto-related site. Two then graduate students, Brent Weisman and Jeffrey Mitchem, opened my eyes to archaeology in the sunshine, to incorporating the media and the public into field projects. I decided then that the long term goal of archaeology was not simply to gather and interpret data about the past, but to produce and disseminate that information to people.

Clear as the Sun

Here, then, are several ideas drawn from the collective experiences of archaeologists in Florida. Archaeology in the sunshine may not work for everyone, but it certainly has been beneficial in our state.

Sunshine Tip 1: Make contact with the media

Media people--journalists, writers, and television reporters--are professionals as varied in personalities and abilities as are archaeologists. All of them get paid for preparing news stories, but there is a real hierarchy that ranges from student reporters who often are interning with local papers and are learning the ropes to national figures like a John Wilford Noble of the New York Times who is willing to read the literature on a science subject, synthesize it, and prepare a story. Most reporters do not have that latitude; they are told by a news editor (their boss) to write or film a story about a topic, and they do it. As one gets more established in the field, one can suggest stories to be pursued.

Larger papers are specialized; some have science, outdoor, and environmental writers along with sports reporters and people who cover the social scene. Smaller papers do not have a wide variety of specialists.

Television stations also have news editors; sometimes they are the anchor people you see on the local six o'clock news; sometimes they are not. Television stations also have field reporters who cover stories; they are the people who travel in vans with a camera person who carries a mini-cam. Their video tapes are returned to the studios where they are edited for airing on news programs. Unfortunately, the people who tape the stories and do the on site interviews are not always the ones doing the editing.

How does one make contact with the media and enter a realm so foreign to archaeology? If you work for a college or university or a large private firm, chances are your organization has a public relations department that already has the contacts and can guide you. If not, the simplest way is to call the appropriate news desk or news room and ask whoever answers if he or she would like to do a story on your project. Archaeology is viewed as "good" news; it is generally not about crime and corruption. Media people actually like archaeology stories and they like to visit sites and see excavations in progress. It is much more interesting than covering a new jail dedication. Generally, with your cooperation, they will write a good story.

Stories appear at the local level, but they can also be sent out on a regional or national network. For instance, a written newspaper account might be sent out on the UPI or AP wire service and read by a UPI or AP reporter. The wire service reporters rewrite the stories and send them on the wire to newspapers all over the country. We have had stories written by local Florida reporters redone by UPI and appear the next day in the San Francisco Chronicle and a few days later in the English-language Herald Tribune distributed in Europe.

Reporters like to see their stories make the big time. They want to do well in their profession, just as we do. And do not forget to get the names and telephone numbers of your new media contacts. You will need one another again.

Sunshine Tip 2: Cooperate with the media

What do you want from the media? You want them to prepare a news story that educates their viewers or readers about archaeology and what we can learn about the past. Your implicit message is "protecting archaeological sites is important because it is from such sites that we can learn new knowledge such as that being produced from this site (or survey)." What is the best way to try and head them in that direction? First, tell the media that is one of your goals. Education is a noble cause and the media knows it. Second, I have found that preparing a short overview--several pages--on your project that can serve as sort of a press-release/information packet for the media is a good practice.

Make it popular and non-technical so real people can understand it. Anticipate what about the project the public might find most interesting. What do you want them to know? If something is controversial, say so. Include your name as author and a telephone number where you can be contacted for additional information. The newspaper reporters will take your literature away and may or may not use information from it. Most often they do. If the story goes out on the wire, the wire service writers can get your name and number from the local reporter if they want more information. Your overview also will serve as a quick introduction to television reporters and help to guide their questions and their on-the-air comments. The overview also serves as a good source of quotes that can be attributed to you.

I have found that the press overview is a great handout for students, field participants, relatives, sponsoring agencies, etc. If you update it regularly, when you finish the project you often have the basis of a good popular magazine article.

Sunshine Tip 3: Media Day

Trying to utilize the media is work and it is time consuming. If you do not budget your time you can be swamped. One way to use your time efficiently and highlight the educational aspects of your project is to integrate Media Day with Dignitary Day and Public Visitation Day. It sounds like a zoo and it often turns out that way, but the results can be worth it. First, invite the press for a specific time, say 9 A.M. to noon. Have your handout information ready to give them and have artifacts and other "photo opportunities" (e.g., the field crew excavating features) available.

This also is a good time to invite appropriate dignitaries to visit the site. Start with your boss and your firm's president or your department's dean. Also, are there local politicians or officials that were involved in setting up the project? How about the landowner and officials from sanctioning state or federal agencies? Give all of them your handout, too. Local politicians love to have the chance to say a few informed words before cameras, and you will be giving them the opportunity to do that and to support archaeology. You often will find that the media, administrators, politicians, and officials all know one another and do not find it at all strange that they are at what appears to be a contrived archaeology love-in. They probably all were at the new jail dedication last week. The media and people interested in establishing an image with the public have a symbiotic relationship.

Since Media Day takes up the morning (or afternoon) anyway, I like to use the occasion to invite the public to visit the site (this requires advance notification to the media). Schedule 30 minute tours every hour and assign some of the field crew to handle parking, put up ropes to mark the tour route, and even lead tours. You or someone will also want to give a short presentation to each tour group. The tours provide an excellent photo opportunity for the media ("archaeologist educates public"); and in reality you are educating them. Your boss and the local politicians will also smile on your foray into public education.

Media/Dignitary/Public Visitation Day is itself a newsworthy event and always draws attention and builds grassroots support. I have also found that opening things up to the public answers their questions about what is going on, generates information on other local sites and privately held artifact collections you might otherwise know nothing about, and instills in the local community protective feelings toward the site. And meeting local people can lead to all sorts of things from cocktail invitations to barbecues to marriage.

Sunshine Tip 4: Build local support by emphasizing local archaeology

In Florida we are fortunate to have the Florida Anthropological Society which is largely made up of avocational archaeologists and which is affiliated with a number of regional chapters around the state. Whenever it is geographically appropriate, I make contact with the local chapter if I am doing a project in their locale. But in much of Florida no chapters exist. When that occurs, I go instead to the local historical society. They are everywhere, it seems, and often are affiliated with small local museums.

The members of such organizations can be invaluable. They already have contacts with local organizations, schools, and the media. And they are a source of information on the local archaeology. Invite the officers to Dignitary Day and the members to Public Visitation Day. Offer to give an evening slide presentation to their group (another photo/education opportunity for the media). Where appropriate, help them with an archaeology display in the local museum that focuses on your project and the importance of their local archaeological resources.

My experience is that cooperation with local groups can pay extraordinary dividends (not the least of which was an individual that provided more than $70,000 for one project). Because archaeological societies are much rarer than historical groups, many members of the latter turn out to be persons who are actually more interested in your project than studying genealogy. Your presence in a community will give such people a chance to learn more about their local archaeology, and it will draw new members to the local historical society. Everyone benefits.

How far you want to go with your new friends depends on your resources and the time you or your field people can commit. For instance, on our west-central Florida project, Brent Weisman and Jeff Mitchem worked through the local historical group to help found a sub-group interested in archaeology. That group attracted new members to the society and ultimately grew to more than 200 people. We gave lectures at monthly meetings and utilized volunteers on a regular basis in our excavations and in survey work. Most importantly we built a great deal of support and a sense of public stewardship for the local archaeological sites and the prehistory and history of the region. That support, coupled with related local museum activities, attracted the notice of legislators who in turn have been educated about archaeology.

Approximately this same approach is being applied at other locations in Florida and is paying huge dividends in terms of support and education. Teaching local people about local archaeology is the best way I know of to assure long term support for archaeological research and archaeological resources.

Sunshine Tip 5: Teach teachers so they can teach the kids

If you actually ever apply Sunshine Tips 1-4 to one of your archaeology projects, it is guaranteed that you cannot escape number 5. Everything said about school teachers is true: they are interested in education and they will take advantage of you and your project to bring new information to their students. But again, their goal is the same as yours: education.

Teachers, like top-notch reporters, also are willing to put in the time it takes to learn about a subject. When they contact me I like to send them my hand-out and anything else that I can lay my hands on. A bibliography that includes overviews or popular articles is also a good idea. Teachers will take those materials and create curricula for their students.

Part of any curriculum is probably going to be a tour of your site with a talk from the archaeologist or at least a slide show at school. And do not forget to send the students to see the museum exhibit you helped with (Tip 4). I have done several Saturday workshops for school teachers arranged by local school boards. The teachers learned a lot, and they received school board-approved credits, which they liked. I was very proud when one teacher in a small west Florida county sent me a copy of the teaching materials she had prepared on Hernando de Soto and the Florida native peoples. I now refer other teachers to her for information.

Sunshine Tip 6: Archaeologists are your friends; support them

If you have read this far, you probably do not need this advice. But, unfortunately, you will find that not all of your colleagues will believe that public education and media coverage of archaeology are worthwhile. Snide remarks may be made about sunshine archaeology. Such naysayers are wrong and should stay hidden in their ivory towers.

It is much more constructive and better for the discipline if archaeologists support one another, especially when it comes to public and media-related activities. Once you are on a reporter's contact list, you will again hear from them when news is slow. One will call and ask if you are doing anything newsworthy. If you are not, refer them to another archaeologist that you know has an ongoing project. Reporters are not used to having scientists support one another. A recommendation from you that "so-and-so's Spanish mission project" is terrific will leave them thinking just that. And do not forget the surveys and other contracted research projects your colleagues are doing.

United archaeologists are a potent force, especially when they include everyone from the State Historic Preservation Officer's staff to the consultant archaeologist just graduated with an M.A. degree and a Society for Professional Archaeology license. If you have not already, organize yourselves in some fashion and plot strategy. And that leads to the next bit of advice.

Sunshine Tip 7: Think big and do not be shy

Public interest, involvement, and support mean government support. Government support means money for research, education, and site protection. Organized archaeologists are an effective way to afford government the opportunity to exercise that support in meaningful ways. Examples are local and state archaeological resource management legislation, county and state archaeology curriculum in schools, support for historic preservation, and support for research and museum activities.

One the most recent examples in Florida is the "Year of the Indian" program that William H. Marquardt and the Florida Museum of Natural History have undertaken in conjunction with two local museums in the Ft. Myers area (the Nature Center of Lee County and the Fort Myers Historical Museum) and the Florida Division of Historical Resources. Funded by the Florida legislature, the project involves research in southwest Florida, media and museum/school education, and participation by the public. It is not going to be long until every school kid and adult in Lee County knows about the Calusa Indians and their prehistoric ancestors and the difference between a nonagricultural and agricultural chiefdom. And they "will come to better understand the need to protect and preserve the cultural riches of southwest Florida for themselves and for future generations" (from Calusa News, 1989).

Conclusion: Who is She that Looketh Forth as the Dawn?

Hopefully, it is archaeology in the sunshine. Sharing our discipline with the public can only lead to increased public support. Utilizing the media is one of the best ways to reach that public. Giving the public the opportunity to learn firsthand about archaeology is another. Once people understand the contributions that archaeology can make to understanding their past, they will also be protectors of that past.

Reference Cited

Calusa News, (1989) Newsletter of the Southwest Florida Project, Institute of Archaeology and Paleonenvironmental Studies, Florida Museum of Natural Resources, No. 4.

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