I always imagined the election would be over and a winner determined when I returned back to my life at Porter Novelli. Instead after seven weeks of 15-hour days, I still have
to turn on CNN every night just to find out whether Al Gore will be the next president.
Considering what took place on election night, I'm left to wonder about the media's ever-increasing role in these affairs. In this case, we were able to see how much influence
the media exerts over what the American people hold as truth. CNN convinced even the vice president of the United States that he had lost the election, thus prompting a
call to Governor Bush. The media is, in fact, responsible for much of my emotional roller coaster on that fateful Tuesday in November. When newscasters announced that Florida
had gone Gore, we shrieked and hugged our fellow campaigners. When they later announced Bush had won the election at 3 a.m., we sat with tears silently sliding down our faces.
At 4 a.m., when CNN reported Gore had called Bush to rescind his concession, we cheered. These events highlight how important it is for the media to hold fast to the principle of
truth in reporting and to dig for the entire story.
Journalists also played an intricate role in my job at the campaign. I was seeking to use the media to influence millions of people across the nation. In this day, traveling
to six states a day, kissing hundreds of babies and shaking thousands of hands just isn't enough. Candidates must be able to reach beyond physical limitations and get their
messages out through the medium people still get most of their "information" from - television. My job was to not only take the four principals (Gore, Lieberman, Tipper and
Hadassah) and stretch their limits but to ensure that "surrogates" were available and on-air to get the campaign message out to the entire country. Our satellite operation, QRS
Newmedia, ensured that a spokesperson from either the Gore/Lieberman campaign or the Democratic National Committee was in every battleground state every day: Secretary Donna
Shalala, Doug Hattaway, Karenna Gore Schiff, Carl Pope, Dr. David Kessler, Senator John Breaux, Senator Bob Graham, Mary Steenburgen, etc.
I spent most of my days pitching campaign surrogates to executive producers around the country. Pitching around the debates was particularly intense. For each debate, we
would have an operation on-site that would take approximately seven or eight surrogates and put them in dozens of markets around the country for pre- and post-debate commentary.
This is about 50-75 interviews in a three-hour time span. Some days were easier than others. Offering vice president Gore for one-on-one interviews the day before the election
was considerably easier than offering Dr. D. James Baker, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. And although there are similarities between
pitching political "surrogates" and corporate executives, you will be hard-pressed to find a reporter who will turn down a story in the corporate world because the news
organization hasn't given equal time to the company's competitor.
Given the intense pitching I did for the campaign, I was able to develop the types of relationships with reporters that are missing from today's fast-paced news cycles. And
while I was comfortable with the media prior to the campaign, I now have a better understanding of how to successfully tap local television by focusing on regional angles. There
is an intense clarity that comes when a station in Portland, Maine turns down a live interview with the vice president of the United States. You come to realize that even a well-
known and provocative "client" doesn't necessarily ensure media coverage.
During the campaign, I also learned more about broadcast production and radio outreach. From producing a bridge line to the intricate details behind a satellite media tour, I
was able to get hands-on experience in almost all aspects of the satellite operation. For radio, I remember trying to get Barbara Streisand on San Francisco radio stations to do
a big get-out-the-vote push before the polls closed in California.
Some of my fondest memories are of the campaigning we did outside the scope of our normal "job." Al Gore's campaign manager, Donna Brazile, gave a rousing speech the last
couple of weeks about the need to get out from behind our desks and get out in the field. Inspired, we spent our nights handing out signs, buttons and sample ballots at grocery
stores around Nashville, urging people to vote. Aside from the great media experience, this is what I'll take with me - the feelings of passion, belief, and the need to get
involved and make a difference. I'm currently back in the swing of things at Porter Novelli, working on accounts that reflect my social conscience, including projects for the
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Physician Leadership on National Drug Policy.
Serena S. McClain is an Assistant AE for the Public Affairs practice at Porter Novelli. She recently took a leave of absence from the agency and spent seven weeks working
in Nashville with QRS Newmedia on satellite media for Gore/Lieberman 2000.
Media Threshholds
Roughly half of Americans say there has been too much media coverage surrounding the presidential elections, according to Gallup research released December 1. Four out of ten
say they are "fed up" with the extensive coverage, although an equal number say they find it "interesting." Republicans are more likely to be "fed up" with the coverage than are
Democrats, and Republicans are more likely to perceive an apparent pro-Gore bias in the coverage than Democrats do a pro-Bush bias. About two-thirds of Americans say coverage of
the Florida recount has been unbiased.
Source: http://www.gallup.com