Our priority is on the message, and not the production quality of your video. We’re looking for submissions that provide free market solutions to any current domestic fiscal policy issue. We’re asking contestants to consider the fact that many Americans no longer seem to understand or appreciate the value of freedom and the role free enterprise, free markets, and less government can play in helping all people succeed. We believe that until they comprehend how liberty outweighs perceived security in their quality of life, we may be creating solutions for problems people don’t know or believe they have. In this video, you might talk about the minimum wage, the impact of professional licensing, entitlements and/or the social safety net, or any of myriad ways free enterprise, free markets, and limited governments provide the best path to prosperity for all people, especially the poor and disadvantaged. Don’t use facts and figures, find a story that will resonate and connect and tell it.
The winners at each semi-final round will automatically advance to the in-person round of the national Great Communicators Tournament held at the Atlas Network Liberty Forum in New York City on November 6, 2019 at 12:45pm ET.
We believe that as long as the Right continues making material arguments (filled with facts and figures, but rarely making moral, emotional appeals), we’re going to continue to lose the fights that matter the most. Free enterprise is better for everyone, especially the poor and disadvantaged – we have to position and frame all of arguments with this in mind. So, for example, instead of arguments about the ways Obamacare is causing unemployment to rise, we are looking for stories about the man who had his hours cut at work so his employer doesn’t have to provide healthcare benefits and is now only working 29 hours a week, who can’t find work to make up the difference, and isn’t able to make ends meet. Making the case for free market solutions with stories that resonate on a personal level will get us much closer to victory than all the facts and figures in the world.
If you’ve made it to our website, you’re probably all set to go with technical skills. We’re focused on the message your video conveys, not flashy technical skills. You can record your video straight from the YouTube website or by using the YouTube Capture app. Outline and script what it is you’re going to say, make sure you’ve got some decent light, and hit record!
| August 21, 2019 | Open for entries |
| September 4, 2019 | Submission Deadline |
| September 18, 2019 | Finalists named |
| September 27-29, 2019 | Competition at YALCon 2019 |
| September 23 | Open for entries |
| October 4 | Submission Deadline |
| October 18 | Finalists named |
| October 29 | Competition at YALCon 2019 |
Wednesday November 6, 2019, 12:45pm EST
Crowne Plaza Times Square, 1605 Broadway, New York, NY 10019
The first place winner will receive $10,000, the second place winner will receive $5,000, and the third place winner will receive $2,500.
Travel and registration expenses for the final round are covered by TFM.
TFM staff and advisors will confer to choose up to 3 contestants to advance to the in-person finals held during the Atlas Network Liberty Forum on November 6.
The contestants that advance to compete in person will prepare remarks in advance of the Atlas Network Liberty Forum on November 6, 2019.
They will have the opportunity to workshop their remarks and receive feedback and coaching from TFM staff and advisors. During the final tournament on November 6, contestants will deliver these remarks and participate in several rounds of questions and answers in front of an audience and a panel of judges.
The judges will confer and the 2019 Great Communicator will be announced.
From the first round of video entries and through the final event, the key to succeeding in the Great Communicators Tournament will be your ability to craft messages and tell emotionally compelling stories that will reach persuadable voters and make a convincing case for why they need more freedom in their lives.
We’ve got you covered:
YalCon 2019 Great Communicators Tournament Official Rules
SPN 2019 Great Communicators Tournament Official Rules
Feel free to email hello@thinkfreelymedia.org with other questions or for more information.