Growing up in the New York area, I quickly learned to carry money in my front pocket. Putting it in your back pocket makes it easier for a pickpocket to steal, and they're so good at it in the Big Apple you'd never even notice.
Politicians can be the same way, only they can deftly steal your objectivity. And you might not even know it's gone. A little charm, an exclusive or two, and suddenly you're in someone's pocket.
I took a few years off a couple of times to run political campaigns, and it was certainly interesting being on the other side of the fence. What gave me an advantage was that I knew exactly what reporters wanted, but more important, I knew how to make their lives easier. And I also knew one key fact that many successful political campaign managers have known for years.
Many reporters are lazy, and if you do their work for them, they'll let you.
I'll give you an example. On one occasion I knew that the person likely to be covering a political speech was a clock puncher, someone who didn't consider journalism a career or a calling, but just a paycheck. I wanted to make sure my candidate's message came across perfectly, so the day before his speech I sent a verbatim copy to the reporter. Sure enough, the reporter never showed up, but the sound bites from my speech did in the reporter's newspaper. I had done the reporter's job, and in doing so I controlled the media in that instance. Had the reporter bothered to show up he might have heard some other interesting sound bites that weren't in the speech.
On another occasion (when I was a reporter) a local businessman I knew decided to run for public office. Members of all the media organizations turned out, but left quickly, never getting anything of substance. He pulled me aside and asked me how he could make reporters stick around. "You only need to remember four words," I told him, remembering my first campaign. "Lunch will be provided."
He scheduled another news conference a few weeks later and pulled out all the stops. A sit down catered lunch and an actual band. Over the top, yes, but every reporter stuck around through the meal and was in a good mood when the candidate came around and did his interviews.
Sometimes it's the candidate who picks your pocket, sometimes a member of the campaign staff. You simply have to keep one thing in mind when covering politics.
These people all want something from you. Sure, they want good coverage and to make sure the right sound bites end up on the air or in the paper, but all of that pales compared to the top request.
They want you to like the candidate.
These days many national reporters and talk show hosts are so transparent about their political views you could read a newspaper through them. And so much is being made about media bias, that the general public has become wise to the tricks of the trade. Clever editing can make even the most eloquent politician look stupid. Bad lighting can make someone look scary. Opinionated copy can turn something innocent into a topic of discussion. During the early part of the Presidential campaign, one of the candidates had some strong words for a reporter. The anchor copy read, "the candidate lost his cool" but anyone watching it could see the politician was simply defending his stance on the issue and was being passionate about it.
Now, more than ever, objectivity is key. Even a hint of favoritism and you've lost your audience.
You can like a candidate all you want, and vote for anyone. But you must always strive to tell the public what you know, not what you think.
Keep your opinions in your front pocket, along with your money, and no one will have any idea how you voted on Election Day.
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