I offer some unsolicited advice again to candidatesDate: 4/12/2022 As I enthusiastically wrote a few weeks ago, this is going to be a very tight election season throughout the Pioneer Valley.
I thought I would offer some advice to candidates about what the media really wants from candidates in order to properly cover them. Not that they are going to follow it, as in many cases, the candidates are paying people to help run their campaign and after all, that’s the person to which they are listening.
Now, I may have written a column about this subject in the past and as W.C. Fields once said, “Pardon my redundancy.”
There are many new candidates running this year, so I thought it may be new to them.
Now, back in the day – old school, hardcore – candidates knew they could get the attention and affection from the media by making available free food and alcohol. Those days are long over as newsrooms are certainly politically correct. We are now not so easily swayed.
I’ve had the pleasure and privilege of covering a lot of local races, and over time I’ve come to understand a few things. So, in no particular order, here goes.
If the choice is to have your campaign event outside, then in the name of all that is holy make sure the weather is cooperating. I’ll never forget the group of frozen journalists when former Mayor Alex Morse made an announcement on the steps of City Hall in the dead of winter. Morse clearly wanted certain optics for TV and he didn’t much care for the fact that it was so cold we could barely take notes.
To hell with the optics, make your announcement in a comfortable environment. No one wants to stand out in heat or cold.
A side note here: it’s clear that when you’re elected to office your biology changes and you become warmer. Ever notice how politicians will not wear warm winter coats? They will attend outdoor events in their suits when the rest of us are layered?
Understanding the needs of the media outlet is very important. Essentially print outlets actually cover the day-by-day elements of a race. TV might turn up for a candidate announcement and then to cover election night. If you’re looking for coverage of an issue or position, print is your best choice.
Call me prejudiced.
There is something one must consider with print, and that is deadlines. If you want to get something covered, think about when you should release the information or conduct a press conference. Contact media outlets to make sure you can actually make it easier for reporters to cover something based on their deadlines.
Please understand that not everything a candidate does is newsworthy. Feel free to tell the press what you are doing in order for them to consider coverage but understand that a routine campaign stop or the millionth time a candidate makes the same stump speech is not compelling news.
And please, if you want the press at an event, don’t tease them. It is far better to tell the press why you want them to turn up than just have the candidate say there is going to be “a major announcement.” It’s been my experience that eight out of 10 major announcements are not major.
Another aside: don’t get angry if a media outlet cannot show up or decides the story isn’t for them. There is no intended insult. Sending an angry email or making a self-righteous phone call usually results in the opposite outcome than intended.
If you are running statewide, try to actually have a presence throughout the state. I understand the logistics of a statewide run can be daunting, but concentrating on one part of the state over another is insulting. I see this all the time. I receive multiple emails daily from candidates and political organizations that have little interest in actually visiting our region but want the attention. That’s not the way it works.
It may be something candidates don’t want to hear, but old-fashioned door-knocking and meeting people in person are still very effective. Running a campaign through social media hasn’t worked so well in the past, locally. Politics and governing are all about people.
I’ve seen people viewed as underdogs triumph because they did the work to earn votes, and that’s by talking to people.
One final thing dear candidates: be honest and open, and please, have a sense of humor.
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