Labor Day has different meanings to different folks. It’s the unofficial end of the summer for many. But for politicians, it’s the official beginning of the election season (although since the advent of cable TV it seems election season is 365 days a year, except in a leap year when it is 366 days).
There wil be a huge increase in trite statements uttered by presidential contenders as their campaigns pick up steam.
Three of the most hackneyed phrases we are sure to hear ad infinitum are:
* “American’s don’t want…” or “American’s want…” What makes these comments comical is that they are often said by members of Congress who have squeaked to victory but nevertheless claim to know what the entire country wants.
* “If we pass this bill, our children and grandchildren will be paying for it for years to come.” That phrase is so old that at least they can freshen it up by substituting “great, great grand children” for “grand children".
* “If elected I will not be beholden to any special interests,” which I call the Pinocchio quote.”
One would think that, just perhaps, talking intelligently without using third grade phraseology might have appealed to many voters who didn’t want to be spoken to as children and contributed to Obama’s two elections.
What does this have to do with public relations? A lot.
* Politicians are taught by the PR advisors to talk in short sentences that can be turned into sound bites, which are favored by TV newscasts. Doing so is a disservice to the public because the 15-to-20 second sound bites contain nothing about the substance of issues.
* Politicians are taught by their P.R. advisors to use phrases that TV producers favor. The trite “Americans want,” seem to be high on the list of phrases that will ensure coverage.
* Politicians are taught by their advisors to stick to the party line while on TV, which makes watching political shows on TV a waste of time.Politicians are taught by their advisors not to show-up the talk show host by pointing out all the factual mistakes made by the host. Do this too often and you may not be invited back.
* Politicians are taught by their PR advisors not to reveal any real news on the political talk shows. Real news will achieve greater coverage at a mid-week press conference, which will be rehashed on the talk shows and get you an invitation on the Sunday shows.
* And most annoyingly, politicians are taught by their PR advisors how to turn a negative question into a positive experience: Simply ignore the question and give an answer that has nothing to do with the question. Experience shows that the reporter will ignore the non-answer and just go on to the next scripted question. Challenging the politician is a “no-no” because upset politicians might refuse to be a repeat guest on the program.
So if you’re tired of hearing the same hackneyed political phrases year-after-year, don’t tune in the Sunday morning political shows. Instead wait a few hours until it’s time for TV sports programming and listen to the play- by- play announcers ignore the reality that viewers can see what’s happening and still describe the action as if there is no television.
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Arthur Solomon, a former journalist and senior VP/senior counselor at Burson-Marsteller, contributes to PR and sports business publications, consults on PR projects and serves on the Seoul Peace Prize nominating committee. He can be reached at [email protected].
The ridiculously high prices Americans are paying at the supermarket might influence how—or if—they vote in November.
At a moment in history when there are so many conflicts among peoples here and abroad, let us put our differences aside and celebrate this wonderful season in a spirit of togetherness.
The news announcing the death of Henry Kissinger, the last of the prevaricating politicians and so-called statesmen who stole my future and that of thousands of other young Americans, got me thinking about Walter Cronkite.
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