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Tonight, President Bush will hold a news conference on energy, Social Security and other issues at 6:30 p.m. It will be broadcast on many TV networks and some radio stations.
Blog Watch
Urban Planning Blog
If you’re interested in planning and zoning issues, take a look at Wilf Sommerkorn’s Utah Planners’ Corner blog. Sommerkorn is director of economic development for Davis County and has a long background in urban planning.
Traditional Media Bloggers
In a recent column in National Journal, William Powers argues that Old Media and New Media are converging, even though the “ragtag band of independent bloggers” don’t want to admit it. He cites newspapers like the Washington Post, whose on-line edition features blogs by some of the paper’s specialists.
In Utah, the only blog I’ve noticed sponsored by the traditional news media is KSL Radio’s “behind-the-scenes” reporter-written blog, which KSL says is the nation’s first radio news team blog.
I believe it’s inevitable, however, that the blogging phenomenon will go mainstream and more blogs will be started by Utah’s newspapers. With their large staffs of reporters with specialized expertise, the newspapers are well-positioned to produce some top-quality blogs that would have good readership. There are some challenges, however. Blogging takes a lot of time and the print editions eat an enormous amount of copy. Most reporters couldn’t produce their usual quotas of print stories and also make blog postings several times a day. Blogging also requires a more personal and casual voice and style, and many traditional reporters are uncomfortable with that.
To do it right, newspapers will have to devote real resources to blogging. That’s difficult because despite all the publicity about blogs, readership is still very small and revenue opportunities are limited. The on-line editions of many papers still don’t pay for themselves. The best approach may be a hybrid solution in which a day’s worth of blog postings are assembled in a column for use in the next day’s print edition.
Campaign Tip
How Safe are “Safe” Seats?
There are lots of legislative seats and other political positions that appear as safe as Fort Knox. These are usually seats where incumbents have been in office for many years, where they seldom have a real challenger, and they always win by wide margins. These seats appear very safe, but are they really?
Certainly, they are probably safe from a challenge from the other party. But they may be quite vulnerable to a challenge from within the party by the right candidate. It all depends on how well the incumbent has communicated with voters and taken care of constituents.
In some cases, incumbents who have been in office for many years are actually quite vulnerable, particularly if they have become complacent, they don’t campaign hard, they don’t communicate much with constituents, and they take their position for granted. Lazy incumbents with an entitlement mentality are ripe for defeat.
So how do you tell if a “safe” incumbent is actually vulnerable? You can do a survey to measure his or her approval rating and to see how well the incumbent is known and recognized in the district. You can also measure their support and positions on particular issues.
In addition, a good way to measure the depth of support for an incumbent is simply to ask a lot of people. Make a list of opinion leaders in the district (business leaders, civic leaders, community activists, ecclesiastical leaders) and ask their opinion. And get a list of party caucus attendees and active voters and ask their opinion. Do you know the incumbent? How well does the incumbent serve the district? How often does the incumbent communicate with you? Do you know the incumbent’s position on this or that issue? If you start asking questions, it may get back to the incumbent, so be prepared for that.
If you’re an incumbent, how do you avoid complacency and prevent serious intra-party challenges? You don’t take anything for granted. You campaign year-round, communicating frequently with constituents and you remain highly visible. You must be seen as very involved and very accessible and interested in citizens.
Some incumbents worry about over-exposure. That’s silly. It’s almost impossible to communicate too much. Most citizens can’t name their state legislator or city council member. Most incumbents are badly under-communicating, not over-communicating. Every incumbent ought to have three up-to-date lists:
- Opinion leaders. Call them. Write letters to them. Ask their opinions and advice. Stay in touch.
- Party activists, especially county and state delegates, party caucus attendees, party workers and officers. Send them newsletters and information about issues.
- Active voters. Get a communication out to them at least once a quarter, although monthly would be better (and more often during campaign season). Don’t let them forget about you.
Use letters, newsletters, e-mail messages, town meetings, op-eds in the local paper, letters to the editor, etc. Fish where the fish are (focus on active voters). You can't communicate too much.
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