Tom Kovach
Suppose I gave a press conference, and nobody came?
Dog parade more important than Congressional campaign?
By Tom Kovach
On the morning of Monday, 20 February 2006, at 1100 (that's 11:00am, for civilians), the official launch of the Kovach for Congress campaign occurred. But, as is often the case in politics, there was a lot more action behind the scenes.
Regular readers of my columns know that I ran for Congress (NY-26) in 1994, and as a write-in (TN-05) in 2004. But, there is a lot about those campaigns that has gone unreported. Those building blocks went into the strategy of this 2006 campaign. Among the lessons learned: get endorsements early. This year, even before the kick-off, I have obtained four endorsements so far.
Money came into play in 1994. At that time, I was a county official with the Conservative Party of NY State. And, I was on the county board of the Christian Coalition. But, both of those organizations backed the Republican candidate — even though he was pro-abortion. Why?! Because he was wealthy, and a Republican. He spent a lot of his own money to run. The Conservative Party and the Christian Coalition bought his forbidden fruit. Apparently, both organizations thought that it would be better to support an "electable" candidate than a "principled" candidate. The problem is that, if they had thrown all that support to me, they could've had both.
So, in this 2006 campaign, I tried to get around the money problem. The Internet is a great leveler. I built a Web site. (I even learned some new techno-techniques, in order to make it easier to read.) I found an inexpensive "opt-in e-mail" service, so that I could send out campaign "mailings" without spending much money. And, I can use that same system to send out press releases. The system even tracks them, to tell me if people received the releases, and if they downloaded the actual release. They did. But, just to make sure, I even made follow-up phone calls last Friday. Several assignment editors, at newspapers and TV stations, told me that my press conference was "on the calendar."
But, NOBODY came.
Yes, you read right: nobody. Not even one. Zero reporters attended my official campaign kick-off press conference. From the empty room, I even made follow-ups to the follow-ups. I was told that the reporters could not show up because of "breaking news." But, it was President's Day — traditionally one of the slowest news days of the year! One assignment editor told me, "Send it again. Apparently, we didn't get it" — even though he was one of the people that said, "It's on the calendar," last week.
So, was it media incompetence or media bias? I'll report, you decide.
The largest daily newspaper in middle Tennessee is the Nashville Tennessean. They actually had a story about Congress today. It was about how little Congressmen work. (Of course, it included the requisite disclaimer that Congressmen actually do work hard — they just don't do all of it under the Capitol dome.) The article even included a quote from my opponent, incumbent Jim Cooper. But, there was no mention that Mr. Cooper actually has an opponent. (No wonder that the local Republican Party thinks that Cooper is "bulletproof.") What can be done? Contact the Tennessean Reader Editor, John Gibson, at: jgibson@tennessean.com, or (615) 259-8228.
The largest free newspaper in middle Tennessee is the Nashville City Paper. Their editor has complimented me on the quality of my letters to the editor. Their political reporter has promised more attention to smaller-party campaigns and issues. But, they didn't show up, either. What can be done? Contact City Paper Editor Wil Moss at: wmoss@nashvillecitypaper.com, or (615) 298-9833 x230.
The largest TV-news organization in middle Tennessee is WTVF, NewsChannel 5. They did not send a news crew, even though Assignment Editor Jamie Reese told me, "It's on the calendar." What kind of "breaking news" was more important than telling voters about someone that wants to represent them in Washington? Well, apparently it's news that having sex causes babies. Then, of course, voters need to know about a Mardi Gras parade for dogs. (The TV version included a clip of dogs with a sign that said, "We're still waiting for the check," in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. That clip was shown at the time that I would've been making a speech. Ironically, I had timed my press conference so that TV-5 could cover it live. But, dogs on parade in Louisiana were somehow "breaking news" in Nashville.) What can be done? Contact news director Mike Cutler at: mcutler@newschannel5.com, or (615) 248-5281.
The local Fox channel had a story about Federal elections. Well, actually, it was a story about the state upgrading its voting machines. The story said that the new voting machines need to be in place before the next Federal election — which will be the Republican primary in August. But, there was no mention of who will be in the Republican primary. Fox-17 also had a story about a woman on the Metro council. She plans to run for State Representative. But, the story said that she would not officially announce her campaign for eight more days! Yet, she got lots of on-street face time, plus an in-studio interview. I announced my campaign that day, and got nothing. What's the difference? Oh, did I mention that she's a liberal, and thinks that the current liberal in that office just isn't "doing enough for people"? What can be done? The news director at Fox-17 can be reached at: news@fox17.com, or (615) 369-1717.
Of course, you can also call the two big Nashville talk-radio shows, and complain there. (You don't need to live in Nashville to call.) Remember, every time someone calls and complains about this, it's possible that you could reach thousands of voters that didn't know about this problem. The morning host is Steve Gill. The evening host is Phil Valentine. Both of them know who I am, and know about my campaign.
Was money a factor in the news media not showing up at my press conference? I've gotten advertising quotes from several media outlets. But, I haven't bought any advertising yet. Why? I don't have any campaign money. I've spent all the personal money that I can spend. (I had to go to the gas company yesterday, and ask then not to shut it off just yet. My wife, who is also my campaign treasurer, was not happy.) With no money, I can't buy advertising. And, I can't get money until my campaign is known. But, my campaign can't get known without news coverage. And, apparently, news crews don't cover campaigns unless you first buy advertising. Can anybody say "Catch-22"?
And, the situation just got worse. While I was proofreading this column, my wife walked into my office with a letter from the Federal Election Commission. The FEC is threatening "enforcement action" against my campaign. (The papers were filed with the FEC on 23 January 2006.) Why? Because my FEC filing did not include a checking account number. Why? Because I don't have a campaign checking account. Why? Because I've only received five dollars in campaign contributions (from another former Blue Beret), and the bank requires that a campaign open a "small business account," with a minimum $100 opening deposit. If I don't have a checking account, the FEC will shut down my campaign (or, fine me). But, with no news coverage ....
The 2004 Republican candidate for the 5th Congressional District of Tennessee was Scott Knapp: an electrician with no political experience. Do the voters of the Nashville area deserve better? Would they be better off with Tom Kovach than with Scott Knapp? Would they be better off with Tom Kovach than with Leftist incumbent Jim Cooper? Would they be better off having the information, and deciding for themselves? Would they be better off knowing that their news media had supported "the public's right to know"? Would the media have more credibility by reporting the facts, or by filtering them? Voters say that they want an honest politician; but, they seem able to only elect wealthy politicians. The events described herein might explain the reason.
So, was it incompetence or bias?
The bottom line is: either way, I gave a press conference, and nobody came.
© Tom Kovach
On the morning of Monday, 20 February 2006, at 1100 (that's 11:00am, for civilians), the official launch of the Kovach for Congress campaign occurred. But, as is often the case in politics, there was a lot more action behind the scenes.
Regular readers of my columns know that I ran for Congress (NY-26) in 1994, and as a write-in (TN-05) in 2004. But, there is a lot about those campaigns that has gone unreported. Those building blocks went into the strategy of this 2006 campaign. Among the lessons learned: get endorsements early. This year, even before the kick-off, I have obtained four endorsements so far.
Money came into play in 1994. At that time, I was a county official with the Conservative Party of NY State. And, I was on the county board of the Christian Coalition. But, both of those organizations backed the Republican candidate — even though he was pro-abortion. Why?! Because he was wealthy, and a Republican. He spent a lot of his own money to run. The Conservative Party and the Christian Coalition bought his forbidden fruit. Apparently, both organizations thought that it would be better to support an "electable" candidate than a "principled" candidate. The problem is that, if they had thrown all that support to me, they could've had both.
So, in this 2006 campaign, I tried to get around the money problem. The Internet is a great leveler. I built a Web site. (I even learned some new techno-techniques, in order to make it easier to read.) I found an inexpensive "opt-in e-mail" service, so that I could send out campaign "mailings" without spending much money. And, I can use that same system to send out press releases. The system even tracks them, to tell me if people received the releases, and if they downloaded the actual release. They did. But, just to make sure, I even made follow-up phone calls last Friday. Several assignment editors, at newspapers and TV stations, told me that my press conference was "on the calendar."
But, NOBODY came.
Yes, you read right: nobody. Not even one. Zero reporters attended my official campaign kick-off press conference. From the empty room, I even made follow-ups to the follow-ups. I was told that the reporters could not show up because of "breaking news." But, it was President's Day — traditionally one of the slowest news days of the year! One assignment editor told me, "Send it again. Apparently, we didn't get it" — even though he was one of the people that said, "It's on the calendar," last week.
So, was it media incompetence or media bias? I'll report, you decide.
The largest daily newspaper in middle Tennessee is the Nashville Tennessean. They actually had a story about Congress today. It was about how little Congressmen work. (Of course, it included the requisite disclaimer that Congressmen actually do work hard — they just don't do all of it under the Capitol dome.) The article even included a quote from my opponent, incumbent Jim Cooper. But, there was no mention that Mr. Cooper actually has an opponent. (No wonder that the local Republican Party thinks that Cooper is "bulletproof.") What can be done? Contact the Tennessean Reader Editor, John Gibson, at: jgibson@tennessean.com, or (615) 259-8228.
The largest free newspaper in middle Tennessee is the Nashville City Paper. Their editor has complimented me on the quality of my letters to the editor. Their political reporter has promised more attention to smaller-party campaigns and issues. But, they didn't show up, either. What can be done? Contact City Paper Editor Wil Moss at: wmoss@nashvillecitypaper.com, or (615) 298-9833 x230.
The largest TV-news organization in middle Tennessee is WTVF, NewsChannel 5. They did not send a news crew, even though Assignment Editor Jamie Reese told me, "It's on the calendar." What kind of "breaking news" was more important than telling voters about someone that wants to represent them in Washington? Well, apparently it's news that having sex causes babies. Then, of course, voters need to know about a Mardi Gras parade for dogs. (The TV version included a clip of dogs with a sign that said, "We're still waiting for the check," in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. That clip was shown at the time that I would've been making a speech. Ironically, I had timed my press conference so that TV-5 could cover it live. But, dogs on parade in Louisiana were somehow "breaking news" in Nashville.) What can be done? Contact news director Mike Cutler at: mcutler@newschannel5.com, or (615) 248-5281.
The local Fox channel had a story about Federal elections. Well, actually, it was a story about the state upgrading its voting machines. The story said that the new voting machines need to be in place before the next Federal election — which will be the Republican primary in August. But, there was no mention of who will be in the Republican primary. Fox-17 also had a story about a woman on the Metro council. She plans to run for State Representative. But, the story said that she would not officially announce her campaign for eight more days! Yet, she got lots of on-street face time, plus an in-studio interview. I announced my campaign that day, and got nothing. What's the difference? Oh, did I mention that she's a liberal, and thinks that the current liberal in that office just isn't "doing enough for people"? What can be done? The news director at Fox-17 can be reached at: news@fox17.com, or (615) 369-1717.
Of course, you can also call the two big Nashville talk-radio shows, and complain there. (You don't need to live in Nashville to call.) Remember, every time someone calls and complains about this, it's possible that you could reach thousands of voters that didn't know about this problem. The morning host is Steve Gill. The evening host is Phil Valentine. Both of them know who I am, and know about my campaign.
Was money a factor in the news media not showing up at my press conference? I've gotten advertising quotes from several media outlets. But, I haven't bought any advertising yet. Why? I don't have any campaign money. I've spent all the personal money that I can spend. (I had to go to the gas company yesterday, and ask then not to shut it off just yet. My wife, who is also my campaign treasurer, was not happy.) With no money, I can't buy advertising. And, I can't get money until my campaign is known. But, my campaign can't get known without news coverage. And, apparently, news crews don't cover campaigns unless you first buy advertising. Can anybody say "Catch-22"?
And, the situation just got worse. While I was proofreading this column, my wife walked into my office with a letter from the Federal Election Commission. The FEC is threatening "enforcement action" against my campaign. (The papers were filed with the FEC on 23 January 2006.) Why? Because my FEC filing did not include a checking account number. Why? Because I don't have a campaign checking account. Why? Because I've only received five dollars in campaign contributions (from another former Blue Beret), and the bank requires that a campaign open a "small business account," with a minimum $100 opening deposit. If I don't have a checking account, the FEC will shut down my campaign (or, fine me). But, with no news coverage ....
The 2004 Republican candidate for the 5th Congressional District of Tennessee was Scott Knapp: an electrician with no political experience. Do the voters of the Nashville area deserve better? Would they be better off with Tom Kovach than with Scott Knapp? Would they be better off with Tom Kovach than with Leftist incumbent Jim Cooper? Would they be better off having the information, and deciding for themselves? Would they be better off knowing that their news media had supported "the public's right to know"? Would the media have more credibility by reporting the facts, or by filtering them? Voters say that they want an honest politician; but, they seem able to only elect wealthy politicians. The events described herein might explain the reason.
So, was it incompetence or bias?
The bottom line is: either way, I gave a press conference, and nobody came.
© Tom Kovach
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