Behind the Coverage: Story Stealing All Stars
The merits of each candidate in the ever-heated DA runoff have been debated in forum after forum, and since I often like to wander off topic, let's explore the effectiveness of the campaigns in shaping the stories coming out of this race.
Simply put, Mindy Montford's campaign is the bomb at "stealing the story" from Rosemary Lehmberg. This is one of the bright spots of her campaign. Two gleaming examples:
1.) The Day Gary Cobb Endorsed Rosemary Lehmberg
Former candidate Gary Cobb, who performed well in the primary in Eastern parts of the district, came out for Rosemary Lehmberg on a random day in the middle of the week. He and Lehmberg scheduled a press conference to talk about his endorsement.
Knowing the announcement was coming, Montford's press aide called our station and presumably, the others, to offer up an interview with Mindy. Mindy told reporters that Gary had asked for a position in the office in return for his endorsement, thereby dilluting his Lehmberg endorsement by suggesting he must be getting something from Lehmberg for his support.
Gary has responded to this saying that's an "absolute lie". But either way, Lehmberg's story was stolen. Instead of the straight "Cobb endorses Lehmberg" story on the evening newscasts, the story became "What did Cobb get in return for his endorsement?" Point Montford.
2.) The Dustup Over Republicans Helping Montford
Republicans I've spoken to do prefer Mindy Montford in this Democratic runoff. It's not necessarily for nefarious reasons, many of my GOP lobbyist friends say they know her and like her better.
Lehmberg has seized on this as a campaign issue - making the argument that the overseer of the public intergrity office can't be an effective check on the Republicans in power if her friends and donors are the very people in power. But Montford effectively co-opted this narrative as well.
In this morning's Statesman, the DA race story was not about Republicans backing Montford, instead, it was about Lehmberg's consultant being accused of libel for spreading that Republican Terry Keel is backing Montford. Snap! Again, Lehmberg's simple storyline is diverted and changed into a story questioning her own campaign people. While this race still feels like it's close (who really knows), Montford definitely has the lead in story steals.
Other Examples?
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