insurance. everything. city government was also absent. ed cotch's administration was not talking about aids publicly. >> actup is born in 1987, emerging from the powerlessness that many affected by the disease are feeling. >> actup's original photo was also its formula. anger into action. our grief, after a while, became anger. we took that anger and frustration and we focused it. >> a key part of actup's strategy is to use the media to spread its message. >> actup was very, very savvy. we had people like ann northrop who used to be diane sawyer's producer at cbs. we had bob ravsky who did pr for corporate america. from day one they told us how to talk to the media and how to get our message out. >> if the press didn't get a film camera there or didn't get a print photographer there, we started taking our own pictures and doing our own video then saying we've got great footage of that demo, do you want it?