Dealing With The Local Media When Running for Office

The media, including newspapers, radio and television can be a great asset or a great big pain when running for local office. Often the only source of information local voters get about a candidate comes from the local media. Therefore, it’s important to set your media goals early and learn to make the media your friend.

Reach out to local media early. Find out what reporters cover your area and send them a quick introduction and contact information. Determine who your primary media contacts will be. A campaign press kit can come in handy. If the campaign is underway, be sure to have press kits in print and available online for download. Anything you can do to make a journalist’s job easier is helpful.

Practice on being a quotable politician. The candidate should have a set of practiced, stock answers for the most common questions. It also helps to practice ahead of time answering non-standard questions. Short, strong statements make the best quotes for media coverage.

Be aware of lead times. Contact the media when you are beginning your planning for an event. Don’t send duplicate copies of your news releases to different people at the same media organization.  Follow up within a day or so to make sure the announcement was received. If it’s a photo opportunity, provide the dates and times, and prepared to give directions.

The candidate or a representative from the campaign should be available to answer questions from the media. It’s important to return requests promptly in order to respond to new events. If you don’t make a deadline, your response could become the default, “Candidate was unavailable for comment.” At best, it can make your campaign look inaccessible. At worst, it could look as if your campaign is hiding something.

“Off the record” doesn’t really exist. Media questions should be answered as if everything you say is on the record and will be reported. That includes any informal conversation before and after the formal interview.

If the media makes an error in a story, stay calm. If it’s a minor point, don’t worry about it. If it’s a major error, inform the reporter of the error (politely) and request a correction. If that doesn’t work, try contacting the reporter’s editor or write a letter to the editor or station manager. If you overreact, you run the risk of permanently damaging your relationship with that media outlet.

Your campaign will have enough obstacles – you won’t want the media to become one as well.

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