The GilmoreGirls.org Great8Mandate

[Mak]

Hey wmushell, go_clo and all you others out there who think I'm a raving lunatic after my 'I HATE' post a few hours ago. I'M NOT. I did send two letters to Dawn Ostroff to support the Great8Mandate, but they were appreciative and polite, as I'm totally convinced that anything negative or threatening would be completely counterproductive. I'm boiling over with frustration and disappointment though, and need to shout it out somewhere. Sorry! Guess I'll just go to the woods next time and hollar at some innocent tree. And please don't insult me by accusing me of turning on this show, I have absolutely loved it from the moment I discovered it, a year ago, and nothing they do/did to the story-lines can keep me from watching, all the way through. That's why I'm angry we won't get more/they didn't do a better job prepping us for the finale. As for the wedding thing, I do think Luke + Lorelai was a big part of the story from the very beginning, and getting a happy ending on that count doesn't have to interfere with the main mother/daughter thread, at all. That's it, promise I'll try not to scare y'all again.    

[ShutUpRob]

Heya, I noticed that some have asked where I've been -- Well, I went and saw Spider-Man 3 yesterday not just because I’m a comics fan, but also because I needed to get away from the computer screen before I gave myself migranes.  So then what happens?  I’m coming down with a cold bug instead!

(koff, koff, aaaa-CHOOOO! Hoonnnnnnk!)

So I’m going to be limiting my posting today (I hope) to some of my reminder notes & suggestions.

For those of you who are new to the Great 8 Mandate Thread, Welcome!  The energy that everyone is feeling is almost tangible to me and I know that a lot of you are wondering what you can do to help try to convince the CW to uncancel Gilmore Girls.  This post is about voicemail, email and snail mail.  Here’s what you can do:

1)  SEND SNAIL MAIL.

Handwriting is fine if your penmanship is good because it's such a personal form of communication.  Otherwise, typing and signing and mailing by snail mail is the single BEST way to contact them.  They expect to be deluged with email and voicemail and that helps as far as it goes, but the amount of effort that it takes to write/type a letter on paper and send it in an envelope always  makes a bigger impression than email and voicemail and the like.  There's a rule of thumb that floats about in various media industries that every individual piece of correspondence that's written on paper and delivered by mail represents the sentiments of at least 7 other people.  So if literally tens of thousands of pieces of snailmail are received, that's going to make a MUCH bigger impact on them than electronic forms of mail.

There are various addresses you can send your correspondence to, which are posted on page 1 of the thread, but IMO, the person who has the most potential to help is IMO, the CW’s President of Entertainment, Dawn Ostroff, who is the nexus of all network realities at the CW.  She can be contacted at the following address:

Ms. Dawn Ostroff, President of Entertainment
The CW Television Network
4000 Warner Blvd., Bldg 168
Burbank, CA 91522-0002

Now, I have a few tips/suggestions to help make you make your letters as effective as possible:

* BE BRIEF.  Keep the length of your letter down to ONE side of ONE page, double space it and use a simple 10 or 12-point Times font.  (Arial font is hard to read.)   If your letter goes on for only one or two more lines beyond a page, don't sweat it, but the longer the letter is, the less of it they'll read before they move on to the next one.  Double-spacing is the exact opposite in print as it is online -- it's much  easier to read on paper than single spacing is -- and again, the need to be as brief as possible will make you more concise and to-the-point.  Conversely, single spacing will make you look a little wacky, especially if you go on for more than one page.

* BE BRIEF (AGAIN):  If you must single-space to get all you want on one page, skip a line between each paragraph as that will help maximize readability.  But definitely do not go over one side of one page at all.  And I'd suggest if you're going to do single-spacing your message should take up no more than 2/3rds of the page, not counting your signature.

* BE POLITE. I know that there's a lot of anger and sadness going on right now, but don't unleash any of it on the person that you're writing too (s/he may not even be responsible for what's happening to the show).  Just tell them why you like the show, the actors, the stories, how it affects you, why you think it should continue, etc.  If your letter is all tone and no substance, they won't read it.  Or maybe the first person who reads it won't pass it on to someone else at the studio or directly involved with the show.

* BE POLITE (Again):  DON'T mention the salary issues because it's not our place to address them.  Some form of "I hope that you are still looking for a solution that results in the show going on" would IMO be a great way to sidestep that issue.

2)  If you are going to send an email or leave a voice mail, that’s okay as a reinforcement of your Snail Mail, but DO NOT AS AN INDIVIDUAL FLOOD ANY INDIVIDUAL AT THE CW OR WARNERS WITH MULTIPLE VOICE MAILS OR E-MAILS.  It will do the exact opposite of what you intend because it's considered spamming and more or less harrassment.[/i]  They want to hear from as many individuals as possible.  And Snail Mail is a better way to do it than either email or voicemail because it's a tangible representation of the viewership's sentiments while electronic forms of correspondence are more abstract (because you can't hold them in your hands) and therefore easy to forget.  And remember to BE POLITE AND POSITIVE.  They already know that we're all upset, we just need to reinforce our presence in terms of the sheer number of individuals contacting them.

3) If you send mail to anyone other than Dawn Ostroff (ie:  Lauren and Alexis), I’m sure as heck not gonna try to discourage you.  Just please make contacting Ms. Ostroff your first priority.  If she gets the mail, she is sure to contact everybody else involved, including her bosses at the CW’s corporate parent companies, CBS/Paramount and Warner Brothers, as well as the actors.  (Or else they’ll hear it through the grapevine.)

4) And send them daisies.

  -- Rob

----------------------------
Season 8:  Because cancellation is a sucky Mother's Day present.  (Just thought I'd say that a week in advance.)

[GG3]

I was reading my Entertainment weekly and there was an artilce about GG.  As I read the article I found this part very interesting.  They said the CW average audience of 2.7 million is lower than the 3.1 million reached by both UPN and WB.  Upon further reading it seems to me that not as many people received the channel CW.  That could be the the main reason that GG's numbers are down , not neccessarily the show itself. 

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20035811,00.html

[LoveMeSomeGG]

GG3- That could be contributing to the lower numbers.  And i dont know about anyone else, but the CW station by me is horrible.  The sound quality is awful, not to mention that a number of times this season the audio and video didnt match up on the CW.  Anyone else have that problem?

[Heidi]

What is the Great8Mandate Daisy Campaign?

As we've all heard, Warner Bros. and The CW recently announced the cancellation of our Girls.  In order to show 'the powers that be' that Gilmore fans are truly dedicated and still stand behind season 8, the Great8Mandate Daisy Campaign was born.  Taking a cue from our favorite show, the Daisy Campaign will physically deliver bouquets of daisies to important parties involved in the season 8 decision making process in hopes of changing the season 8 tides. 

The exact executives/actors who will receive the daisies depends entirely on how much money the campaign raises.  It would be safe to assume that our first targets are people like Dawn Ostroff (President of Entertainment, The CW Television Network), Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel, Peter Roth (President, Warner Brothers Television) and so on.

How can I participate and send daisies?

There are two ways to participate in the Daisy Campaign.  Supporters can either send bouquets of daisies on their own, or they can send money to GilmoreGirls.org via PayPal so that resources can be pooled together. 

What happens once I send money to GilmoreGirls.org?

Every dollar that is sent to GilmoreGirls.org for the Daisy Campaign will be used for purchasing flowers.  GilmoreGirls.org will work closely with local florists to ensure that money is spent properly and on something Gilmore fans will be proud of.  If possible, photos will be taken of the daisy bouquets.  At the very least GilmoreGirls.org will provide receipts for all flower purchases so that participants can see exactly how money was sent. 

How can I send money to GilmoreGirls.org for the Daisy Campaign?

PayPal payments can be sent to: [email protected] 

What is PayPal?

PayPal.com is a company/service that allows individuals to send and receive money online.  It's free, secure, and a fast way to send payments.  Users can send payments using a credit card, debit card, or bank account.  For first time PayPal users, I suggest visiting PayPal.com and taking a look around.  It only takes a few minutes to sign up for an account and send a payment.

When is the last day money can be sent in for the Daisy Campaign?

As of this moment, the campaign's deadline is May 13th.  Depending on how much money is raised, GilmoreGirls.org may choose to send multiple bouquets of daisies, or one giant bouquet.  If at any point news is released that there is zero (absolutely no hope) for a season 8 revival, GilmoreGirls.org will stop accepting payments for the campaign.

If I have questions about the Daisy Campaign, who can I contact?

All questions, comments, and suggestions are all welcome.  Please feel free to post them in this thread.  If you'd prefer to contact GilmoreGirls.org via e-mail, write to [email protected]

Final comments

Please don't donate money to the Daisy Campaign if it will be any kind of financial hardship.  No one should feel bad if they can't participate; this is just one of many ways to participate in the Great8Mandate.  Please also go into this campaign with eyes wide open.  Meaning, this grand gesture probably won't save our Girls.  You probably won't receive any kind of thank you from Dawn, Lauren, or Alexis.  This is simply our way of trying to persuade the powers that be.  Our way of knowing that we did everything possible to save our favorite show.

~Heidi

P.S. - If something isn't clear or needs further explaination, please let me know.  I'd be more than happy to address any questions or concerns.

For those who are wondering, we've raised about $250 thus far.  Depending on how you look at it, $250 buys about 166 stems of daisies or 7 bouquets of 24 stems each.

Once I have more of an idea of the total amount we'll raise, I can talk to a few florists to see what kind arrangements they put together.  Vases?  Baskets?  Bouquets with bows?  I'll ask about everything. 

We also need to decide who exactly we want to send the daisies to, and when we want to send them.  All to one person?  A couple of boquets to each?  Do we want to send everything at once?  (I'm of the position that the sooner we send things the better.  Then, if more money is raised after our initial delivery, we can add additional deliveries.) 

Please let me know if anyone has additional questions in regards to the Daisy Campaign.   Thank you.

~Heidi

[Luv2CGG]

I'm so over the ASP vs. DR thing- I enjoyed season 7 and I will watch these next (I will not say 'last' yet) 2 episodes with baited breath. I just love this show. I want more. Gilmore. The 13 shows over a full season thing sounds great- is this too simple for the professionals to come up with??

I totally agree. I'm tired of hearing how the show has changed since the Palladino's left. WHAT?! It was the Palladinos who had written the L&R fight during Season 6 and introduced April as Luke's daughter and broke off L&L.  I love the show no matter what. I agree with you puff, I want more shows, and a shortened 8th season would be better than nothing, and would allow the storyline to end more effectively.

[ShutUpRob]

Heidi, I think you should send the daisies to Dawn Ostroff only and let individuals in O:DD decide if they want to send their flowers to others.  Focus the Campaign on one target and the word will still get around because, well, they're all involved.

Oh, and please spread the word about both your Daisy Campaign and my O:DD to media outlets (let's make it clear:  they're the same daisy campaign, just two ways to do it) -- Ausiello, E!, TVGal at zap2it, etc.  I wouldn't know how to do a real press release and I my cold buy is making me go downhill pertty fast today anyway.

Also needed:  somebody who wants to find the addresses of and contact Gg advertisers, and to share the addresses with us.  They can help us let the network see continued interest in the show.  They like knowing where their advertising makes an impact.  One advertiser for Farscape was particularly enthusiastic about keeping in contact with the 'Scapers.  Won't say who because they aren't really a sponsor of Gg (okay, it's KFC), but advertisers are potential support that we haven't tapped yet.

  -- Rob

------------------------
Season 8:  Because Lauren co-starring in Evan Almighty this summer is great advertising for Gg in and itself.

[divine]

For those who are wondering, we've raised about $250 thus far.  Depending on how you look at it, $250 buys about 166 stems of daisies or 7 bouquets of 24 stems each.

Once I have more of an idea of the total amount we'll raise, I can talk to a few florists to see what kind arrangements they put together.  Vases?  Baskets?  Bouquets with bows?  I'll ask about everything. 

We also need to decide who exactly we want to send the daisies to, and when we want to send them.  All to one person?  A couple of boquets to each?  Do we want to send everything at once?  (I'm of the position that the sooner we send things the better.  Then, if more money is raised after our initial delivery, we can add additional deliveries.) 

Please let me know if anyone has additional questions in regards to the Daisy Campaign.   Thank you.

~Heidi

Oh my god!! 250 dollars in what - like 2 days?? This is amazing everbody! I am a bit overwhelmed  

I totally agree with Heidi that we should get the flowers out as soon as possible! We can always send a second, third, whatever *lol* bouquet if we raise more money. Also I'd suggest to concentrate on Dawn - I think I only read from one person here that she sent the flowers to LG and AB agents, the rest of us sent them to Ms. Ostroff. This way this 'effect' of flower-flooding would be bigger

For you guys who can't send money because of age, living outside US,... issues. Please don't worry!! The fact that you're posting here and are interested in participating at all  - that's really great!! I love how everyone is bounding together now in the 'hardest times'!

I also recognized that we have a lot of guests lately - you're all welcome to share your thoughts, feelings, suggestions,.. on this matter with us!

So far, I go with Sooks' argument: "Don't hate ... mandate"   .. (I hope it was hers .. man, there've been so many new pages *lol*)

Also ..if someone is able to print some flyers and distribute them in his area, they are available here: http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u44/divine1985/flyer_2Kopie.jpg  .. everyone else who is more creative (and a lot of you guys are - I saw that *lol*) or some other ideas feel free to post your link, pictures,...


@Rob ... good to hear from you again - and I hope you feel better very soon!! .. Although, I have to bug you with a little question 
I don't know if you went through all the posts from yesterday .. but you seem to have really good knowledge of this whole 'television world' . So Billie and I came up with the idea of contacting the local networks from Austria & Germany which broadcast GG here .. but I have absolutely no idea what we should tell them to do *lol* .. do you have any idea? Would it make any sense at all to contact them?
Sorry again for bothering you, but thanks in advance for your opinion

[flcrkr]

For those who are wondering, we've raised about $250 thus far.  Depending on how you look at it, $250 buys about 166 stems of daisies or 7 bouquets of 24 stems each.

Once I have more of an idea of the total amount we'll raise, I can talk to a few florists to see what kind arrangements they put together.  Vases?  Baskets?  Bouquets with bows?  I'll ask about everything. 

We also need to decide who exactly we want to send the daisies to, and when we want to send them.  All to one person?  A couple of boquets to each?  Do we want to send everything at once?  (I'm of the position that the sooner we send things the better.  Then, if more money is raised after our initial delivery, we can add additional deliveries.) 

Please let me know if anyone has additional questions in regards to the Daisy Campaign.   Thank you.

~Heidi

I just sent some funding for the project.

It seems like $250 would buy more daisys than 166 stems, lol.

I think that most should be sent to Dawn maybe, if she is the one person we are trying to target the most, but also possibly sending some to Alexis and Lauren, but for the most part Dawn. And maybe sending some out every few days so it's like they seem neverending or something like that, lol. But sending out the sooner the better.

[heyall09]

 I am totally with yall on the Great8Mandate!!!!!!!

[Heidi]

For those who are wondering, we've raised about $250 thus far.  Depending on how you look at it, $250 buys about 166 stems of daisies or 7 bouquets of 24 stems each.

Once I have more of an idea of the total amount we'll raise, I can talk to a few florists to see what kind arrangements they put together.  Vases?  Baskets?  Bouquets with bows?  I'll ask about everything. 

We also need to decide who exactly we want to send the daisies to, and when we want to send them.  All to one person?  A couple of boquets to each?  Do we want to send everything at once?  (I'm of the position that the sooner we send things the better.  Then, if more money is raised after our initial delivery, we can add additional deliveries.) 

Please let me know if anyone has additional questions in regards to the Daisy Campaign.   Thank you.

~Heidi

I just sent some funding for the project.

It seems like $250 would buy more daisys than 166 stems, lol.

I'm working off a rough estimate from one florist.  Once I have a better idea of our overall total, I'll definitely bring out my haggling skills.  Especially because we'll be ordering a large quantity.

~Heidi

[flcrkr]

For those who are wondering, we've raised about $250 thus far.  Depending on how you look at it, $250 buys about 166 stems of daisies or 7 bouquets of 24 stems each.

Once I have more of an idea of the total amount we'll raise, I can talk to a few florists to see what kind arrangements they put together.  Vases?  Baskets?  Bouquets with bows?  I'll ask about everything. 

We also need to decide who exactly we want to send the daisies to, and when we want to send them.  All to one person?  A couple of boquets to each?  Do we want to send everything at once?  (I'm of the position that the sooner we send things the better.  Then, if more money is raised after our initial delivery, we can add additional deliveries.) 

Please let me know if anyone has additional questions in regards to the Daisy Campaign.   Thank you.

~Heidi

I just sent some funding for the project.

It seems like $250 would buy more daisys than 166 stems, lol.

I'm working off a rough estimate from one florist.  Once I have a better idea of our overall total, I'll definitely bring out my haggling skills.  Especially because we'll be ordering a large quantity.

~Heidi

I had a feeling that's what you were doing. It's a shame that flowers cost so much though. Do you know if you would be able to get a discount because you would be ordering so many? That would be awesome if you did cause then that would mean even more flowers.

[KuKuLeNiLeNi]

Okay...so I just printed a big daisy in 3 photographic papers...which I'll use to write my desires  about season 8 and send them to Ms.Ostroff,Lauren and Alexis.
I can still send them (Lauren and Alexis) to their WB or CW adress right?Or should I send them to their managers? Some advice please?
I'm writing the letters right now, and mailing them tomorrow.
Hopefully they'll arrive on time.
I also sent moneyfor the daisy campaign.It's great to hear we are rising so much.I also sent emails...to Ms.Ostroff,Alexis agents...CW feedback,Ellen...more?
Keep Mandating!
Leire

[ShutUpRob]

Hi!  It's Day Three of . . .

Operation:  Daisy Duke.

In which we send real daisies to Dawn Ostroff, President of the CW (address later in this post) in order to urge her to work one last time with Lauren and Alexis to revoke the cancellation of Gilmore Girls.

TODAY'S GOAL for "Operation: Daisy Duke" is to encourage those viewers who want to send daisies to Dawn Ostroff on their own to order and send a bouquet of daisies tomorrow, MONDAY, so that your bouquet can reach Ms. Ostroff on Tuesday, in conjunction with the airing of the penultimate episode of the season, "Unto the Breach."

Without further adieu, I present to you "Operation: Daisy Duke."

1)  Why "Operation:  Daisy Duke"?  Because it just wouldn't be a Save Gilmore Girls campaign without a funny pop culture reference coming from left field.  The show has made some very amusing equations between Lorelai and the hottest Dukes cousin, including having Lorelai drive a jeep (just like Daisy did), having Lorelai wear Daisy Dukes to her meeting with Headmaster Charleston on Rory's first day at Chilton, because Stars Hollow is the set where Hazzard County used to exist and because the exterior of Lorelai's house is the exterior of Uncle Jesse's house.  And because the many ironies inherent in the show's premise strongly suggest that we'll have better luck than Max did with his daisies.

2)  There are many sources on the web and in your own backyard to send daisies through.  Many of the online florists only promote $40 vase arrangements of daisies, which may be beyond a Gg fan's budget.  One of Heidi's inquiries into a store located in Burbank stated that daisies can be ordered for as little as $1.50 per stem ($18 per dozen).  If you are willing to order your daisies through that store, then I think that the quantity of daisies ordered would be as profitable for that store as ordering a fewer amount of more expensive daisies would be.  So here's the address of the store to try:

Magnolia Flowers & Gifts
(818) 569-0229
- Daisies were available for $1.50 per stem.  According to the florist 1-2 dozen stems would make a nice vase. 

A dozen daisies would likely come in a typical cellophane wrap if they're bought by the stem.  And remember, you can also order daisies through FTD, 1-800flowers.com and other websites and even your local florists.  Order the daisies in the way that is best for you.

3) THE DAISY CAMPAIGN:  If you are overseas or can't afford a full bouquet or a simple dozen stems, then please add to Heidi's Daisy Campaign. If you don't have a PayPal account or just want to do-it-yourself, then "Operation: Daisy Duke" is the method for you."Operation: Daisy Duke" and The Daisy Campaign are NOT competing ideas, they are two methods to accomplish the same idea, which is to send daisies to Dawn Ostroff at The CW.  Partipate in whichever method is right for you because they are BOTH part of the Great Season 8 Mandate.  The larger the number of daisies that are sent through The Daisy Campaign, the better. The more bouquets of daisies that come in to Ostroff's mailroom everyday, the better.  One large bouquet going in reinforces a stream of individual bouquets going in and a stream of individual bouquets reinforces one large bouquet.  Please PM Heidi if you want to go with the PayPal plan way, it'll help give her the idea of what size of an order she'd be making at minimum and the more people she gets a sense that would be willing to donate, the bigger the bouquet will be.  And she'll post further details as soon as she can. 

4) Send yellow daisies ONLY because that's the color of Lorelai.  If whoever you order from is out of yellow daisies (unlikely, but still . . .) then, sure, go with white daisies, but Yellow is the color.

5) Send your daisies to Dawn Ostroff at the following address: 

Ms. Dawn Ostroff, President of Entertainment
The CW Television Network
4000 Warner Blvd., Bldg 168
Burbank, CA 91522-0002

6)  You can, of course, send small message cards with your bouquet.  The rule is this:  BE POLITE AND POSITIVE.  Do NOT write anything like "I hate you because you cancelled Gilmore Girls!" or "I'm sad that you cancelled Gimore Girls" or "I won't watch The CW ever again unless you uncancel Gilmore Girls."  I totally understand, respect and even share those feelings, but, after all, it's not something that Lorelai or Rory would do in this situation.  Instead, write something like "Please renew Gilmore Girls!" or "Please uncancel Gilmore Girls" and sign it with at least your name and address so that they know how far Gg's fanbase has spread throughout the country and the world.

7) DEADLINE: EVERYDAY is the official deadline.

I'll do another big push on Sunday the 13th (yes, I know, I know, Mother's Day)    to encourage sending flowers on Gilmore Tuesdays, but the more constant the stream of daisies delivered to Ms. Ostroff on a daily basis between now and May 16th, the day before the CW's Upfront (Fall Schedule Announcement) is revealed, the better.  Again, the last day for same day deliveries is May 16th, but other than that, every day is deadline day for the campaign.

  There is no 8 yet.  That's the whole point.

9) Please post to this thread when you've sent a bouquet.  I'll keep a running total and post updates periodically.  Even one hundred bouquets of just a dozen daisies sent to Ms. Ostroff will surpass the 1000 mark of daisies from LD&T and I am sure that we'll send a lot more than that.

UPDATE:  I'm kinda sick right now, so if somebody could do a tally of individuals that have said that they've already sent daisies, that would be super.  Try to start counting from around page 270 or so.

10)  Please spread the word of "Operation:  Daisy Duke" around to other MBs and forums that have enthusiastic Gilmore supporters.  Some of the obvious boards are FanForum, the cwtv.com lounge, TwoP, E!, etc.  If you recruit at any other forum, please post here with which one you posted at so that we get an idea of how it's spreading and so that we don't duplicate the news too often (no more than once per day).  We don't want to annoy people, especially since there are people who post to multiple MBs.  But still, let us know which MBs it gets posted to and provide a link to this here Great 8 Mandate thread or even copy this entire post to that forum.

Okay?  Okay!

Let's spread the word!  "Operation:  Daisy Duke" continues!

  -- Rob

--------------------------
Season 8:  Because The Dog Paul Anka should be repaced with a Miniature Schnauzer (Dirty!!), which, in its Lorelai-like eccentric way, yaps a lot.

[xdeartragedyx]

Wow I am so proud of everyone, $250 for the daisies so far!!! Awesome.  I won't have money until like Tuesday or Wednesday to donate, so if they are sent before then, that's okay becasue I already sent a boquet of them to Lauren... but I will certainly help if I get the money in time