“Eighty percent of life is just showing up.” — Woody Allen
The City of Wayland welcomed three political celebrities in 48 hours between Saturday afternoon and Monday morning. Yes, it doesn’t happen very often in these parts.
State Rep. Jon Hoadley, Democrat of Kalamazoo, made Wayland the first stop of his “listening tour” as he campaigns for a Sixth Congressional District seat held by Republican Fred Upton since 1987. Then on Monday morning, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, both Democrats, stopped in at the grand opening of the Michigan Carpenters and Millwrights Training Center to make a few remarks and tour the impressive facility.
Many friends and colleagues were somewhat surprised when they learned I had no plans to attend either media event. Though they consider these developments news, as do most print and broadcast media outlets, I am a renegade, a heretic.
In my somewhat sordid career in community journalism, I have grown weary and cynical about politicians seeking free and positive publicity for doing very little for the public good. This process certainly is not limited to Whitmer, Stabenow and Hoadley, it has become a time-honored tool of slick advertising, marketing and propaganda.
Let’s go back nearly 40 years to the winter of 1980, on the weekend the U.S. hockey team pulled off the “Miracle on Ice” by beating the Soviet Union. I was attending a journalism conference in Ann Arbor. At the close of the sessions, the hosts brought up a very important revelation that I obviously have not forgotten since.
The hosts told all journalists present that the data was unmistakable about why incumbents win so often in campaigns. The largest culprit very simply was that incumbents use their fame, their celebrity, to get free positive press coverage for just showing up. Challengers rarely can get noticed for anything because they are not famous — yet.
One of the best examples up close and personal of unfair incumbent advantage was in the 1990s when State Rep. Bob Bender (R-Middleville) was asked by the local March of Dimes campaign to show up to give a sendoff speech for the Barry County March for the Kids. His first reply was a question, “Is there going to be any media there?”
When he learned the media would be present, he did indeed make an appearance to say a few kind and obvious words about the March of Dimes. When the marchers began their trek, he got into his car and drove off. But not before he was photographed for the Reminder doing his good deed.
Not long before the end of my professional community journalism career, I started to take pictures at media events and find ways to crop the politicians out of the photo. I made sure I included the people who did the hard work for the campaign, but eliminated the guy or gal whose assignment was to just show up and get credit.
So my commitment to attending a media event was very minimal at best. I believed the speeches they were to give would be keen grasps of the obvious. Talk is cheap, actions for the benefit of the people mean a lot more.
Let’s just say I work hard to avoid celebrity journalism, whether it involves a politician, an entertainer or an athlete.
