Other Columns by Paul M. Weyrich
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It used to be simple. If a conservative Senator's story was carried by major newspapers and network evening news millions of Americans heard it. What they heard, if anything (major media usually ignored conservatives), was filtered through a left-leaning media that determined the outcome of the story. Today it is complex and much harder. A conservative Senator can be heard on talk radio, even on the major shows which reach millions. A Senator's commentary could be posted on dozens of websites and it could be quoted by other commentators whose columns are carried by numerous websites. (This commentary regularly is posted on seven different websites such as Newsmax.com, the largest of the conservative news sites, in addition to our own Free Congress home page where it originates and is distributed to thousands via e-mail). If the Senator's statement or action is interesting the story is bound to be covered by no less than Fox News although it also might be covered by other news channels. CNN has many hours of programming. Inside Politics with Judy Woodruff often features the views of conservatives. And Joe Scarborough, a former Republican Congressman from Florida, retains some of his conservative views and often will have conservative guests on MSNBC. Economic conservatives frequently appear on CNBC and Bloomberg Television.

In my six years of working with Senator Gordon L. Allott (R-CO) (four of them as his press secretary) he was not on a national news program but it wasn't for lack of trying. In my five years of working for Senator Cart T. Curtis (R-NE) he was on Meet the Press once. Senator Allott was seldom in national newspapers. He was an excellent Senator, who contributed much to national policy, such as energy and strategic minerals and public transportation. Yet he left the Senate after 18 years with few outside his home state knowing about his public life. Curtis was in the Senate for 24 years and for a short while in 1964 was seen frequently on television because he was the late Senator Barry M. Goldwater's (R-AZ) spokesman on the GOP platform for the national convention that year. After that and even though Curtis, like Allott, was part of the Senate Leadership and ranking member of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, almost no one but Nebraskans knew of him.

Today that would not be the case. Assuming these former Senators had skilled media people they could be seen frequently on news/talk television; they could be heard regularly on talk radio shows if they were involved in the controversy over judges; and their words could be read or heard daily on various websites featuring news and commentary.

There is no reason that any Senator should pay homage to the Washington Post or the New York Times, which are part of a declining industry that may not exist in due course. The Senators need not fret if NBC Nightly News portrays them unfavorably. Fewer and fewer Americans would know. But they could be seen by more viewers on cable news channels and C-SPAN.

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