Sterling’s Blog

I bet that I’m not alone in remembering times when I’ve read a newspaper’s editorial on a topic and wondered, “Where did they get that!”


Well, the Detroit Free Press posted something today that offers a great peak into the process behind the masthead.


Editorial page editor Ron Dzwonkowski and deputy editorial page editor Stephen debated whether Gov. Jennifer Granholm must hold a hearing before deciding whether to boot Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick from office… in an online video.


Most newspapers have been slow to use advanced media tricks of the trade to reach their increasingly distracted audience. In Michigan, the Free Press has been the exception. The paper has used video, blogs and reader forums to enhance the news it reports and opinions it expresses.


This online debate is great. Sure, it may not be Oscar-worthy, but it gives readers an inside look at how an editorial board comes to a decision on an issue… a long overdue look. Well done.

It’s exciting to announce that Wednesday morning, The Capitol Caucus will be launched.


The Caucus is a new effort — a first-of-its-kind-in-Michigan effort — to poll the political insiders who follow the ins-and-outs of state politics to get their opinions on what’s happening on the Michigan political scene.


The Caucus is a great group. In fact, it’s an amazing group of 65 people who have been shaping Michigan politics for many, many years. We have former chiefs of staff, current communications directors, press secretaries, political consultants (both Lansing- and D.C.-based), a state party chair, lobbyists, a national party committeewoman, PR experts, a lawmaker, pollsters and the list goes on. I’m thrilled and honored to have such a group of people sign on to participate.


I’m also proud to have two partners in the effort: Robert Kolt of Kolt Communications, Inc. and Michael Meyers of TargetPoint Consulting. Bob is a long-time and well-known Lansing PR guru, and Michael was a part of the polling team that pioneered the use of micro-targeting - the method of targeting voters with personalized messages that George W. Bush, and others, have used to terrific success.


For Sterling and me, this project is simply a natural fit. We specialize in communicating in a political world, and what better service to provide than a regular sampling of what the political world is communicating.


The Capitol Caucus is here. Sign up and enjoy.

The Capitol Caucus

From Friday’s Detroit News:

While the candidates were battling in public, their Michigan partisans were wrestling behind the scenes.


On one side was Yob, an early McCain supporter, who hoped his old-school, grass-roots style would again deliver Michigan — a state McCain had won in 2000. Yob’s son, John, a political consultant, was deeply involved as a top McCain campaign aide.

Pros on Romney’s team

On the other side was Romney’s formidable operation, led by some of the state’s top elected GOP officials — including most of the congressional delegation and Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson. His team was staffed by accomplished pros, such as the Sterling Corp., a Lansing-based firm specializing in campaigns and public relations.

Photos like this really make you wonder about folks in Washington, D.C.


Is it really the case that not a single person on the Senator’s staff said, “Maybe we should have the poster say something else.”

Much has been made of the leadership shake-up within the McCain campaign in recent weeks, and one item that
critics of the campaign mentioned near the top of their list of complaints was the staging of the Senator’s public events.

The staging and imagery of a public/press event is so often overlooked, and usually to the detriment of those trying to deliver a message. In doing media training with political candidates, I often use an example of the candidate who makes installation a crossing signal at the scene of a horrible car/train collision a center piece of his campaign. Then, he announces the proposal in a boring conference room at the local school district building instead of bringing cameras and reporters to the actual site. Doing so would have allowed the pictures to help him tell his story just as much as his words.

One area under new leadership in the McCain camp is his event advance and set-up team. Now in charge is a guy responsible for staging candidate and President Bush’s public events. And, for closer followers of this kind of thing, President Bush has utilized simply stunning imagery to help communicate a message throughout his campaigns and his presidency. Announcements staged in the shadow of Mt. Rushmore and with the Statue of Liberty and a huge American flag in the background come to mind as two immediate examples.





If this photo from John McCain’s visit to Michigan this week is any indication, it looks like at least this part of his campaign shake-up is paying off.

Under the best of circumstances, it’s not easy to convince someone to part with their money in support of a politician. Under some of the worst circumstances, it’s next to impossible… as the NY Times notes this afternoon.

Some of the replies are unprintable, given the coarse language, the donor said. A sampling of others included:

“Why would I help pay off debts that Hillary amassed simply to keep damaging Senator Obama?”

“Gas prices are up, the markets are in turmoil, my kid’s fall tuition bill is coming soon. Writing checks to politicians I don’t like is not at the top of my list.”

“Not a penny for that woman. Or her husband. Or — god forbid — Mark Penn” a reference to Mrs. Clinton’s former senior strategist, whose firm is still owed several million dollars for work that included aggressive attacks on Mr. Obama.

Maybe if the Clinton Relief Fund continues its struggles, they could simply ask for a penny for these folks’ thoughts.

I’m pretty sure that almost everyone who’s worked in media relations has experienced a conversation that goes a little something like this.


You: “Hey, that story you wrote was ok, but that headline was horrible. What’s up with that?”


Reporter: “Look, I write the stories, I don’t write the headlines. Take it up with my editor.”


After seeing this headline and story about a recent opinion poll, you might be able to also add:


Reporter: “Look, I write the stories, I don’t write the headlines or actually read the polls.”

Welcome back to the Sterling Blog. We’ve been away for a bit doing what we should be… working.

Saw this this morning, though, and thought it would be a good entree back.

Today’s tip: Look for your comfort zone. This goes for everyone from presidential candidates to your average job. When you have a message to communicate, if you can, deliver it in a venue where you feel comfortable.

Clearly, John McCain thrives in the townhall setting and could do without the big speech behind the formal podium. For those of us watching, we could do without it too. He knows his comfort zone, so does his campaign, and, as the Times points out, look for more of those townhalls in the weeks ahead.

But, this kind of strategy is not reserved for only those seeking the highest office. If you’re a business executive with a real ability to connect one-on-one but a penchant for locking up when standing behind a podium, put the stuffy boardroom and rigid podium away and deliver your next piece of news at a more informal roundtable of reporters in your office. If you run an organization with business before the city council and you hate the confrontation of a face-to-face but are the second-coming of Winston Churchill behind a podium, then forget the one-on-one meeting and go to a council meeting and deliver your message in public.

Bottom line, look for your comfort zone, because when you’re comfortable you’re more effective and that’s the whole point.

From earlier this week. The Michigan Information and Research Service pundit piece.


Is Wright Doing Right By Obama?
MIRS asked political pundits if the Rev. Jeremiah WRIGHT is making things right for presidential hopeful Barack OBAMA? Over in the 17th House District, pundits also were asked to handicap the chances that House Speaker Andy DILLON (D-Redford) will be removed from office.


Meanwhile, the major issues of individual health insurance market reform and energy reform are a big deal at the Capitol, but are they a big deal from the voters’ point of view? And who, or what, is behind the health care mandate ballot initiative?


Q. Did the Rev. Jeremiah Wright help Barack Obama with his visit to Detroit?


“Any time Jeremiah Wright appears in conjunction with the discussion of race it cannot help the campaign of Barack Obama, not for a nanosecond,” said political consultant Sam RIDDLE. “There is a complete disconnect between the message of Rev. Wright and the perception of mainstream white Americans. This explains why as Jeremiah Wright has risen in terms of news media coverage, Barack Obama’s popularity has fallen in the polls.”


Matt RESCH of Sterling Group agreed that Wright staying in the limelight isn’t something that helps Obama.

“If I were Barack Obama, I would be very bitter that Rev. Wright continues to cling to the public and media spotlight,” Resch said.
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