Creative, Persuasive and Disciplined
Winning over an Editorial Board
04/30/12 05:24 PM
Winning over an editorial board
While newspaper readership is declining, newspaper endorsements can provide an important boost for a candidate or ballot measure. An endorsement can validate your message near the end of an election, when voters are sorting through the clutter of competing arguments.
Preparing for a meeting with a newspaper editorial board leads most candidates to emotions ranging from anxiety to terror. It’s your one chance to win over a group of editorial writers you may be meeting for the first time. You may have as little as 30 minutes to make your case and explain away any weaknesses. If your opponent is interviewed first, you may spend the meeting responding to your opponent’s attacks.
Recently John Diaz, editorial page editor for the San Francisco Chronicle, posted tips for candidates planning to visit the Chronicle to make their case for a June California primary endorsement.
Most important – do your homework and read the paper, particularly past editorials. To be effective at persuading a group of voters, you need to understand their views and values and make a connection. The same is true for editorial writers.
Here’s a link to the Diaz column and his other pointers.
While newspaper readership is declining, newspaper endorsements can provide an important boost for a candidate or ballot measure. An endorsement can validate your message near the end of an election, when voters are sorting through the clutter of competing arguments.
Preparing for a meeting with a newspaper editorial board leads most candidates to emotions ranging from anxiety to terror. It’s your one chance to win over a group of editorial writers you may be meeting for the first time. You may have as little as 30 minutes to make your case and explain away any weaknesses. If your opponent is interviewed first, you may spend the meeting responding to your opponent’s attacks.
Recently John Diaz, editorial page editor for the San Francisco Chronicle, posted tips for candidates planning to visit the Chronicle to make their case for a June California primary endorsement.
Most important – do your homework and read the paper, particularly past editorials. To be effective at persuading a group of voters, you need to understand their views and values and make a connection. The same is true for editorial writers.
Here’s a link to the Diaz column and his other pointers.
