Politicians getting more free rides from local news media with 'news' that's not news and often calls for reporting

By Al Cross

Director and professor, Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, University of Kentucky

Local news media need to be more careful about running press releases from politicians, says Jim Pumarlo, former editor of the Red Wing (Minn.) Republican Eagle, who does training for community newsroom and writes a regular column to help them.

Jim's latest column starts out by noting an unnamed Minnesota congressman who called the American Rescue Plan Act bloated and wasteful but "took credit for the millions of dollars allocated for local projects courtesy of the $1.9 trillion economic relief package. . . . The lawmaker staunchly defended both his vote and taking credit for the local funding. He was a longstanding advocate for the projects, but opposed the federal plan as full of spending unrelated to Covid-19."

This isn't the first such episode, but "Most incumbents can get by with having it both ways without constituents playing close attention," Jim writes. And in an email, he said, "I see a lot more press releases and other column submissions on a variety of fronts being published verbatim – no attempt whatsoever to edit."

Jim and I agree that politicians deserve to take credit for policies and funding that help their constituents, but reporters and editors need to judge their press releases, editorial columns and other public statements by a basic standard: Is it newsworthy or thought-provoking? In other words, does it tell us something we didn’t know? Are facts on a topic presented in a different way than we have been doing it, offering useful perspective? Or is the officeholder expressing a view he or she has not previously expressed?

To his object example, Jim writes, "Funding for local projects delivered by the federal relief bill is news. The reports may well warrant mention of a local member of Congress, but it’s highly questionable whether that is the story lead. A quote is likely sufficient coverage unless there are extenuating circumstances."

The episode "draws attention to the broader issue of when to acknowledge a connection between the 'whom' and 'what' in everyday reporting," Jim writes. "There is no universal right or wrong, but decisions demand consistency. Newsrooms should develop general guidelines, keeping in mind that all circumstances must be reviewed on their individual merits."

Jim is author of Journalism Primer: A Guide to Community News Coverage, Votes and Quotes: A Guide to Outstanding Election Coverage and Bad News and Good Judgment: A Guide to Reporting on Sensitive Issues in Small-Town Newspapers. He can be reached at www.pumarlo.com and welcomes comments and questions at jim@pumarlo.com.