The Inlander/February 2010
An incumbent lawmaker advises readers of consumer friendly legislation, offering details of how they can take advantage of the measure which he supported.
Another candidate extols the virtues of Flag Day. She also congratulates citizens for their participation in a community celebration.
Someone else seeking office offers voluntary, weekly columns on timely topics.
The submissions come from Democrats, Republicans and every other political stripe. They come from individuals seeking different levels of elective office. They may be forwarded as a press release, letter to the editor or column.
Newsrooms should have a two-pronged response for these and similar requests which flood editors’ desks during election season. No. 1, politely reject the submissions on the basis that they are campaign literature. No. 2, direct the candidates to your advertising departments.
Finding ways to supplement paid advertising has become a strategy of all political campaigns. The attempts to gain free publicity are pursued on a couple of fronts.
First, the candidates themselves churn our press releases, letters and columns. It is no coincidence that the material generated by incumbents, especially in state and federal legislative bodies, increases significantly during election years. The rationale: The more releases that are sent, the more will be published, and the more times lawmakers will get their names before constituents.
A key position on most campaign committees is also the person who will orchestrate a letter-writing campaign. The “endorsement” letters will start to arrive shortly before candidate filings close. Many editors can even rattle off the names of some of the usual cast of writers. Furthermore, it’s fairly clear in some cases that the writers’ names are affixed to text prepared by someone else.
Most newspapers do their best to provide individuals an opportunity to express support for a candidate. But the editing necessarily becomes more aggressive as campaigns wear on.
Publishers and editors routinely bemoan the fact that candidates spend less and less in paid advertising but seek more and more in free publicity. It’s a signal that newspapers must be as aggressive in promoting advertising campaigns as they are in their news coverage of political contests.
In a nutshell, advertising departments must be educated on the races and the issues. Those staffs well versed in the candidates and the contests will be in the best position of selling advertising campaigns.
How is that best accomplished? It’s most useful to have the news and advertising departments sit down early in the process to have a brainstorming session. Prep ad staffs on the candidates and the issues. Identify those races that are expected to draw the greatest attention.
All candidates should be introduced to both news and advertising departments, though it’s important to maintain a clear separation between news coverage and advertising campaigns.
Communities are best served by a vigorous debate of the issues; it’s healthy for the democratic process. Newspapers also should take steps to ensure the exchange of opinions is carried out on a level playing field by adopting and publicizing policies on press releases and commentary.
As for those candidates who want to articulate exact messages in a specific strategy, editors should encourage them to contact their advertising staffs, which will be happy to assist.
Newsrooms should publicize policies early and as often as appropriate, inviting candidates to call if they are unclear about procedures. Laying the ground rules up front will lead to fewer misunderstandings in the heat of the campaign.
