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Tuition Tax Credit Debate Begins
The fight over tuition tax credits takes center stage in the Legislature
today (see Morning
News story) with Rep. Jim Ferrin unveiling his legislation
at a press conference at 3:45 p.m. in the Capitol West building,
according to information from Parents
for Choice in Education and Education
Excellence Utah, two groups supporting education choice in Utah.
Ferrin has been fine-tuning his legislation, HB39, and working
with the Huntsman administration so it is acceptable to the governor.
It will apparently be means-tested, meaning it will be targeted
at low-income families.
It will include disclosure requirements so parents can learn things
like whether a private school is accredited (and by whom), and what
credentials teachers have. Schools receiving tuition tax credit
students must administer a nationally-normed achievement test and
disclose individual student results to parents and, upon request,
aggregate results to the public.
New Legislative Directories Available
A new pocket-sized legislative directory is now available, sponsored
by the Salt Lake Chamber, Zions Bank, Utah Association of Realtors,
and the Utah Mining Association. Published by The Exoro Group, the
directory features color photos, contact information and bios of
all legislators, seating charts, committee assignments, and so forth.
The directory is a little late because publication was held up
awaiting appointment of Darin Peterson and Rick Wheeler. They replaced
Leonard Blackham and Mike Styler, who resigned to join the Huntsman
administration. After the directory went to press, Democrat Ty McCartney
resigned and was expected to be replaced this week.
Free copies will be available at the Capitol, or you can drop by
the Exoro Group office, 47 W. 200 South, American Plaza III, STE
105, and grab a handful.
Communications Tip
The Value of Campaign Ad Storytelling
By Charlie Cook, National
Journal
Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2005
Sometimes the best questions that should be asked after each election
are the ones that never are, and maybe they are never asked for
a reason: No one wants to hear the answers.
But for all the hundreds of millions of dollars spent in each
election cycle on television advertising, how much of it is wasted
on formulaic ads that look and sound alike and lack even the slightest
bit of creativity?
As I sat in perhaps 100 hotel rooms over the last year in more
than three dozen states, my reaction to so many Senate, House, gubernatorial
and even presidential campaign ads was wondering how that media
consultant thought anyone might be influenced in any way by that
advertisement. A great many are an insult to the intelligence of
voters.
Recently, a campaign manager expressed irritation that too many
ads a certain media consultant produced for his client in an open
Senate race looked exactly like the ones the consultant also produced
for an incumbent senator in a completely different part of the country.
Almost word for word. There was virtually nothing unique to that
particular candidate or opponent, that state or region, or the circumstances
in that race.
Too many ads today are boilerplate, straight out of the cookie
cutter, and they hardly get noticed by voters.
It wasn't always the case. Many, though not all, of the first-
and second-generation media consultants were originally filmmakers.
They learned a craft and then applied it to politics.
Those who came to know and understand politics then brought their
craft to television advertising, telling a story and making a convincing
case why their client was a unique and compelling figure and why
voters would be lucky to have that person as an elected official.
I've always thought that negative ads were fairly easy to do. As
the old saying goes, "Any jackass can knock down a barn, but it
takes a carpenter to build one."
That is certainly an overstatement, but there is a grain of truth
that a negative ad is not the most difficult thing to construct.
But few are memorable or credible. It is in the realm of positive
advertising that the greatest deterioration has occurred. It is
an almost lost art.
Over a quarter century ago, I was cleaning out an office closet
and ran across a tape of a 15-minute ad that the late documentary
filmmaker and sometime Democratic media consultant Charles Guggenheim
produced. Titled "A Man for Arkansas," it was prepared for Sid McMath's
1962 gubernatorial campaign in the Razorback State. Despite the
fact that my parents were both from Arkansas, I had never heard
of McMath (I was nine years old and living in an adjacent state
when he last appeared on a ballot).
But watching that ad literally brought tears to my eyes. It told
his life story, his view of the world and what he thought a governor
was supposed to do. It was truly a work of art, and it made him
a compelling figure. When was the last time you saw an ad that wove
a story and left you moved? Obviously 15 minutes is a luxury not
every campaign can afford, but through the 1960's and 1970's, Guggenheim,
who passed away a little over two years ago, did fabulous work for
his clients.
On the Republican side, Bob Goodman was a fabulous consultant who
also brought a filmmaker's eye to the world of media consulting.
Another Democrat was the late David Sawyer, who in one ad turned
prickly Boston Mayor Kevin White into "a loner in love with his
city," taking the edge off the candidate and making him more of
a fighter for his city, rather than a jerk, as many had thought.
The late Bob Squier was yet another media consultant who knew how
to tell a story. If there is a common thread here, it is that most
of the craftsmen have retired or passed away.
What has happened is that few current media consultants have any
training in filmmaking. They are campaign operatives who have moved
into the world of producing television commercials. While there
is nothing inherently wrong with that, as they do know politics
and have invaluable experience, the craft of storytelling is missing.
It would be just as big a mistake for a campaign to go out and hire
a documentary filmmaker with little knowledge of or experience in
politics. But rarely do I see those two sets of skills co-exist
in a single media consultant or even a firm, with one partner from
each discipline.
Since last November's election plenty of rocks are being thrown
at campaign consultants on the Democratic side -- some for good
reasons. But this is a problem that is not unique to either side.
Indeed, as a general rule, I don't think Republican ads are any
better than Democratic ads. The problem is more systemic than partisan.
But it is a problem, whether anyone is talking about it or not.
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