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Consultant's Corner
How to get the media to cover campaign events
By Stacy D. Cole
May 24, 2004
This is one of the more difficult tasks for a campaign. It is especially true the farther down your particular race is on the ballot. Radio and television need ratings to sell advertising, and newspapers need to sell papers.
Every event that you have will not be considered newsworthy by radio, TV and newspapers. But, there are ways to ensure that they are kept abreast of the details of your upcoming events, news/press conferences, etc.
When setting up the news/press conference, you want to appear that you are making a major announcement; for example, a policy initiative, or entry into/exit from the race. Typically, these are the only times when the media will be interested, especially a down-ballot campaign. Hopefully, the news/press conference is not being called to deal with a scandal.
After deciding what the announcement will be, the setting should be decided upon. If the announcement were about the environment, you would hold it outside by a nature preserve or close to a polluting plant, for two examples. If you are announcing a major education policy initiative, it could be at a school. If you are announcing a jobs policy initiative, you could have it at an unemployment office, or close to a business that will be adding jobs in the near future. The list goes on and on.
Whether the event is held indoors or outdoors, you will want to get as many people as possible to attend. This is why I usually recommend campaign kickoff announcements, for example, to be held indoors. By having the room (no matter the size) packed with supporters waving your signs, and applauding wildly, it will give the appearance that your campaign has many supporters and huge momentum. Remember from earlier: Perception is reality.
Please understand there is no guarantee the media will be there to cover your event. Your campaign (read: pres secretary) should contact the media via phone, email and fax 1 week prior to the event. A reminder phone call and email should be sent to the media 2 days prior to the event, and the morning of the event. The reasoning behind this volume of communication is to continually keep you, the candidate, in front of the media's attention.
After the event, send a copy of the candidate's speech, campaign literature, a copy of upcoming events at which the candidate will be attending, any positive news articles regarding the candidate, and contact information. It would do you well to send this information in a professional looking folder or binder. It is also recommended that you put in a letter describing everything in this package, plus mentioning that the candidate is available for interviews.
Again, there is no guarantee that the media will be covering the news/press conferences of your campaign. But, by using the tools listed above, you will have a better chance of good media coverage.
Good luck!!!
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