Use the Media Wisely
By Paul M. Weyrich
May 18, 2005

Last week Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) was asked at a pro-family coalition meeting to explain the political conduct of some Senate colleagues. While Santorum responded that he did not know what motivated some Senators, he explained some of them still rely on the New York Times and Washington Post for approval. When those newspapers criticize Senators as they often criticize Senator Santorum, some colleagues vowed not to state their views on "dreaded" social issues lest they receive the same treatment.

I repeated those comments to House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO), who was my seat mate at the tribute to House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) last week in Washington. Rep. Blunt thought the problem frequently was generational. Some of Blunt's younger colleagues haven't used the media well. The important question is how to reach people.

I wish I could show every Member of Congress, at least the conservatives, two documents. The first is the official audit of newspaper circulation. This audit is important to newspapers because it tells advertisers how many people subscribe to and receive newspapers. Many newspapers also have added those who read an article or two from the newspapers' websites. That is why online readers fill out a form requesting much information in order to register and read a single article of interest. The newspapers want to show potential advertisers both the official audit and the number of people using their websites. Guess what? Despite posting their news on the Internet, newspapers consistently are losing circulation year after year.

There will come a time when it simply will not be economical to operate a newspaper. It will be the same for the ratings book of the television networks. The rating books, published quarterly by the major networks, are losing their news audiences. Fewer and fewer people watch the news. Some former viewers have switched to the cable news channels such as Fox News Channel which is the fastest growing of the five news and news/talk channels. It is becoming clear that the days of big budget network news with correspondents reporting from all over the world and well-known anchormen managing the news coverage are over. If the trend isn't stopped soon there will be no newscasts on the major networks.

People have not stopped watching television but they have stopped watching the news on network television. What are they doing? Many are listening to talk radio where they usually hear network radio news on the hour and important news explained by talk show hosts. Others, including myself, have turned to the Internet. I can get news any time of the day or night on the Internet. I am interested in pursuing a specific topic I search the Google website and find more than I can possibly digest. Some folks have programmed their computers to receive daily commentary on immigration or Iraq or abortion or other issues of interest. I don't know how many people read only Internet news and commentary sites but there are millions of Americans who might. These folks no longer schedule their dinner hour around NBC Nightly News. (Tom Brokaw knew when to retire from NBC Nightly News while he was still at the top of his game.)

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.

Recently I did an hour-long interview with C-SPAN CEO and President Brian Lamb. There were thirty times the number of people who told me they watched the C-SPAN interview than who have mentioned they saw me on the big three channels combined.

If only conservative legislators would understand that we are in a completely different era. What they had when they grew up (a morning and maybe an afternoon paper, three network channels, maybe a UHF channel showing old movies and PBS) is not the case anymore. A skilled Member of Congress could become a household word in short order. Watch Republican Senators Tom Coburn (OK) or David Vitter (LA) from the class of 2004. Republican Senator Norm Coleman of Minnesota from the class of 2002 is on his way. This is a great time to be a conservative with respect to the media. What a shame so few Members of the Senate and House of Representatives have figured that out.

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Paul M. Weyrich is the Chairman and CEO of the Free Congress Foundation.

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Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of GOPUSA.