There are numerous examples of how Twitter has changed political campaigns and the reporters who cover them, but few are as telling as this tweet from Kurtis Lee of the big Denver newspaper:
Before the Twitter era, there wouldn’t have been much of a reason for a reporter to take a picture like this (if a reporter even had a camera). Maybe a reporter would have mentioned that the room was empty in a subsequent story, but that wouldn’t be as telling as this single image.
The fact that there was nobody in the audience doesn’t make Joe Miklosi’s announcement less important (full press release after the jump), but it is a small black mark on a positive story. Reminder to Press/Communications people: if you aren’t sure that you will get good media coverage at a press conference, then you damn well better make sure there are volunteers on hand to take up seats.
Fire Fighters, Police Endorse Joe Miklosi for Congress
First Responders Recognize Miklosi’s Support for Protecting Colorado
Today, Joe Miklosi announced endorsements for his campaign from the Colorado Professional Fire Fighters and the Colorado Fraternal Order of Police. As a state legislator, Joe has worked to help the men and women who keep our cities and neighborhoods safe, and he is committed to doing the same in Congress.
“I am so honored to have the support of Colorado’s first responders, and I pledge to give them all the help they need to protect and serve the people of our state,” said Sixth Congressional District Candidate Joe Miklosi. “This past summer we saw the bravery and commitment that these men and women exhibit when they are faced with a community tragedy or a natural disaster. They deserve representatives ready to fight on their behalf in Congress.”
The Colorado Professional Fire Fighters announced their endorsement of Joe Miklosi’s campaign for Congress today.
“During his years at the State Capitol, Representative Miklosi has been a tireless supporter of the fire fighters and public safety issues,” said Aurora Fire Fighter Steve Clapham. “He has never wavered in his defense of working men and women. The Colorado Professional Fire Fighters are proud to endorse Joe Miklosi for the position of Congressman from the Sixth Congressional District.”
And the Colorado State Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police issued a letter endorsing him as well.
“Joe Miklosi has a clear record of support for the men and women who put their lives on the line every day and we are proud to support him. He is un-questionably a staunch supporter of law enforcement,” said Frank Gale President of the Colorado State Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police. “Joe is concerned about keeping our communities safe. He not only understands the issues surrounding public safety, but he is willing to roll up his sleeves and work to solve the public safety problems facing our country now and in the future.”
These endorsements are representative of the contrast between Joe Miklosi’s support for first responders and Mike Coffman’s record of not looking out for their interests. Joe is committed to helping first responders get the health care coverage they need for work-related health problems.
In 2010, Coffman voted against a bill to provide health care and compensation to first responders exposed to toxic material after Sept. 11, 2001 [HR 847, Vote #664, 12/22/10
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Or do I count the camera guy as a podium type?
they would’ve found 50 retired people at a Casino in Blackhawk, paid them $100 to go on a bus to Denver, and handed them placards to hold up at a predetermined time. We Dems just have no imagination. 😉
Sold out stadiums in 2008, now he has 13,000 people show and that’s on a college campus.
Sometimes it’s the messenger and the message.
Crowing that Obama supposedly can’t draw a crowd here… Yet in other threads saying the election is in the bag for Obama.
26 people in attendance, including myself. There were 15 candidates. After deducting family members and campaign managers, there were two actual voters, meaning most candidates were talking to no one in their district. But I told them I was representing The Denver Post and they went ahead. Basically, if a press conference or debate falls in the forest and there is no one to cover it, it didn’t happen. But if the mass media pick it up, that carries the message far beyond the two voters there.
Five people showed up, including me. We had a great time hanging out with Stephen Stills.
Bill Clinton (then Governor of Arkansas) was at Cherry Creek Mall once in 91, and I got to talk to him one-on-one for ten minutes. It had been in the newspaper, but at that time, not many folks had heard of him.
Good things can happen when you show up. 🙂
at this level, unless your endorser can guarantee an audience, then just send out your press release — “Candidate X is very pleased to announce his endorsement from the staff of the 48th Avenue Wag-N-Wash” — skip the dog and pony show, and spend the same amount of time that was wasted here walking a block, or shaking hands on a street corner, in your district.
In this race especially, Miklosi’s biggest problem is that he’s considered to be small potatoes no-name. When his campaign first noticed that this was a no turnout event, he would have helped himself by suddenly remembering an important prior engagement and no-showing.
This twitter will have far more reach, and do more to sway undecided voters against Mikloski, than the endorsement event ever would have garnered.
talk is cheap, buddy.
“We thought the other side was doing the inviting”. I’m one of Joe’s most vocal cheerleaders and I have two family members who are firefighters. This is an event I ABSOLUTELY would have scheduled my week around, had I known about it.
This is not a reflection of Joe’s ability to be a great Congressman. This is a reflection of a misunderstanding about who was going to publicize the event, I’m sure. Someone will get chastised, someone will learn from it, and life will go on.
In the meantime, thank you to Joe for being on the side of public safety personnel!
“We thought the other side was doing the inviting”. I’m one of Joe’s most vocal cheerleaders and I have two family members who are firefighters. This is an event I ABSOLUTELY would have scheduled my week around, had I known about it.
This is not a reflection of Joe’s ability to be a great Congressman. This is a reflection of a misunderstanding about who was going to publicize the event, I’m sure. Someone will get chastised, someone will learn from it, and life will go on.
In the meantime, thank you to Joe for being on the side of public safety personnel!
Note to self: No more caffiene after noon.
Hands up if you have any interest in political press conferences that don’t involve either the POTUS announcing new policy or someone’s first response to a major scandal?
Maybe he should have tweeted the endorsement at the reporter instead.
Probably some campaign staffer going down the checkboxes of how to announce an endorsement, who forgot to do a “does spending the candidate’s time on this event help the campaign?” gut-check. They could have taken some photos in the campaign office without all the hoopla, then sent Joe out canvassing as Diog suggested.
Hands up if you have any interest in political press conferences that don’t involve either the POTUS announcing new policy or someone’s first response to a major scandal?
Maybe he should have tweeted the endorsement at the reporter instead.
Probably some campaign staffer going down the checkboxes of how to announce an endorsement, who forgot to do a “does spending the candidate’s time on this event help the campaign?” gut-check. They could have taken some photos in the campaign office without all the hoopla, then sent Joe out canvassing as Diog suggested.
Maybe this whole thing was orchestrated to just get the Coffman tracker there alone. (Someone forgot to tell Kurtis Lee though.)
Joe may not be running a high profile campaign, but in the part of the 6th that used to be the 7th, he may not need to. My mom lives out there and she says all of her neighbors are livid that they’ve been saddled with that Teapublican SOB. They’re all voting AGAINST Coffman,even if they wouldn’t know Joe if he passed them on the street. The best thing Joe can do for himself (if any of his staff is reading this) is promise to continue the grocery store meet-and-greets that Ed did. People, especially older people out there loved those.
But I note Kurtis Lee never, ever wastes a chance to bash Joe Miklosi. Sometimes he is willing to play loose with facts to do so. I don’t think Lee is a good reporter at all.
Back to the schadenfreude…