Covering the Whole Campaign

(Originally article date: May 9, 2007)
It's easy to get caught up in the back and forth between the two main candidates in a race or between the two main sides in a ballot initiative, but most campaigns are much bigger than that. Campaigns are about communities and voters too. Below, some ways to expand your coverage:

1. Contextualize Voters
Deborah Potter, NewsLab Executive Director
Tell the reader more about the "average folks" you interview to put their comments into context. Names and ages, while they identify in the most basic sense, usually don't give readers any sense of where a person is coming from ideologically or their background. Who are the people you are talking to? Where do they live, what do they do for a living, what are they worried about, what's going on in their lives? Make people more than labels and more than names.

2. Cover Lesser Candidates
Marty Tolchin, Editor and Sr. Publisher of The Politico; former New York Times correspondent and editor of The Hill
Plan coverage of local races with the same care that your presidential campaign coverage is planned. Consider the substantial impact that many "lesser candidates" have on readers' lives. This is also a good training ground for young reporters. While covering the school board is obviously less glamorous than covering the governor, readers might benefit more from a collection of profiles about county assessor candidates than a canned speech by a gubernatorial candidate.

3. Understand Who are the Most Powerful People in Your Community
Marty Tolchin
Often they may not be elected officials. They may be clergy, businessmen, lobbyists, etc. Identifying them may be a great story or series. They may not be part of a party establishment, but their connection to the grassroots or motivated nonpolitical types can be telling. They may be able to give you an indication of where the race is headed or explain to you an important angle you have missed in your coverage. More important, they may be key to unlocking and understanding your community.

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