My name is Tom Watson and I’m a Guardian reader. I know where I stand with the Guardian – it winds me up but I keep loyally buying the paper. These days, I’ve developed a coping mechanism to deal with George Monbiot and editorials calling on me to vote Liberal Democrat. I read the paper but I will not be swayed by it.
That’s the thing about national newspapers: people know they editorialise and stand out on particular issues. So they also get their hard news from the regional and local media as well.
In my constituency, the Express and Star, the Black Country’s evening paper, is the biggest local newspaper outside London and every day sells more copies than the Independent.
When the Daily Mail goes on about the working families tax credit computer having technical glitches, the Express and Star will also cover the story but will be prepared to say how many families in the West Bromwich East constituency are benefiting from tax credits (6,600, as it happens).
In short, regional and local papers are a vital tool for getting our message across. Luckily for us, the local media is always hungry for good stories and, as Labour’s representatives on the ground, we’re often in the best position to provide them.
So here are ten dos and don’ts:
1 Do build a good relationship with local journalists. Always return their calls, no matter how bad the story – they’re going to have to write it anyway.
2 Never complain to a reporter’s boss: you’ll only get their backs up even more. The maxim ‘never pick a fight with someone who uses ink by the barrel’ is true. If you’ve got a problem, go to the reporter direct, but don’t complain all the time.
3 Do give journalists snappy, succinct, well-written press releases and they’ll tend to print them. If you regularly provide them with stories about what you’re doing, they will soon start phoning you to comment on other issues.
4 Keep up the momentum by e-mailing regular stories and by following up press releases, but don’t bombard journalists with rubbish – you devalue your currency and risk being ignored when you’ve got a genuinely good story.
5 Always find a local angle to a national story – it’s always worth the effort.
6 Think in pictures. Mrs Watson could get a job on Blue Peter, having this year magicked together giant gold stars (to celebrate the local hospital’s performance ratings), giant fireworks (Fireworks Act) and giant stamps (to save a local post office).
7 Don’t be greedy – share a good story with a colleague if they are up for election and you’re not. At the very least, get them in the picture and story too.
8 Never be tempted to lie or over-exaggerate, but never be afraid to trumpet what we’ve actually done. All too often, particularly where there is a Labour council, we let our opponents take credit for things that we have ourselves delivered.
9 Hit the airwaves. A few minutes on local radio or TV can be priceless. It’s amazing how many people remember an embarrassing appearance on Ready Steady Cook or a grilling from Radio WM’s legendary Ed Doolan, but forget what you actually said. Ring your local radio station, take part in their phone-ins and send them your good news stories.
10 Don’t forget the letters page. Other than the front page and the TV listings, it’s the most read part of any newspaper. With a little encouragement, Labour members and supporters can help to redress the balance by getting their opinions printed and gently
putting straight the untruths of our opponents.
Positive local media coverage is about having just some of the hard work Labour’s elected representatives do every day reported and recognised. A spurt in the final weeks of the election campaign will make little difference. It needs to be done all year-round and, if it hasn’t started already, the work should begin now.