Your newsroom wants to localize the presidential election story.
But how?
Cover the candidates when they come through town? Examine local examples of an issue such as immigration or the mortgage crisis? Find places where people in your community gather and listen to them talk about issues they care passionately about?
Sure. Any or all of the above. And here’s one more idea: Do a “label story.”
In other words, help your audience think beyond the labels. Words like experienced. Naïve. Government insider. And my favorite label of the moment: Patriot.
What is a patriot?
That’s a really good story — especially with the approach of Independence Day, which political consultants obviously think provides a perfect context for arguing over who’s patriotic enough to be president.
But what does patriotic really mean? Isn’t the answer a lot more complex than our current political discourse would suggest? Dictionary.com defines patriot as “a person who loves, supports, and defends his or her country and its interests with devotion.”
I don’t see any mention of armies or flags or national anthems in that definition, but for the better part of seven years now, the word patriot has been redefined to applaud those who support this nation’s military campaigns, and to impugn the character of those who suggest other courses of action.
Now it’s being used to question whether Sen. Barack Obama has what it takes to be president.
Here’s my first question for you: Is your coverage of this debate limited to simply replaying the “He’s-not-patriotic-enough-yes-I-am” rhetoric? Are you playing into the hands of political consultants who want your community’s voters to make another choice based on symbols and emotions instead of sound thinking?
How about a label story on your community’s patriots?
Who are they? What do they do? How do they “love, support and defend their country and its interests with devotion?”
Remember: The goal of this story is to help the audience to think — to challenge the assumptions that limit our ability to see through the spin and vote intelligently.
To that end, your local story might examine members of your community who consider themselves patriots in defiance of the stereotypes. Let’s consider:
- The longtime member of the American Civil Liberties Union who, in defense of the Constitution, fights the government’s use of domestic surveillance
- A young socialist who advocates an end to the Iraq War, major cuts in military spending, and full employment for anyone who wants to work
- A environmental advocate who is planning to disrupt the political conventions in Denver and Minneapolis in protest of American policy on greenhouse emissions
Can these people be patriots, too? Can people in your community express their love for America and a commitment to its interests by working against our current policies and programs?
Could it be that true patriotism has more to do with defending the ideals of America than with defending their current execution?
Remember Daniel Ellsberg? Is he a patriot?
When he released the Pentagon Papers in 1971, revealing the lies that American presidents had told their country about the Vietnam War, Ellsberg was called “traitor” — while his government tried to put him in jail for over 100 years.
Looking back, was Ellsberg’s decision to tell his government’s secrets an act of treason or an act of patriotism? Was he working against the interests of America or defending its ideals against an administration working to subvert them?
Are there people in your community whose acts of patriotism could bring this debate alive for your audience in 2008? Could you tell their stories?
When you’re done with patriotism, other buzzwords await your scrutiny. What is a government insider anyway, and why has that label become a liability for John McCain? Since when is it necessarily bad to know how a system works and to be able to navigate it effectively? Are there insiders in your community who do great work? Could you tell their stories?
Think what a difference you could make on Election Day.
