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Engaging with the Media

June 2024

Quick Guide
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The media is an important channel when it comes to sharing vital
information about the elections with the voting public. Here are some tips
to begin outreach, foster relationships, and achieve success:

Engage Early

The best time to start building relationships with key media outlets was yesterday the next best time is now. Like in politics, everything is local. Begin by introducing yourself to local media covering the election, make sure they know how to reach your office and proactively share resources demonstrating your expertise as a trusted source of election information.

Be Prepared

The themes surrounding the 2024 election will be similar to those of recent cycles. Prepare now by developing public fact sheets, infographics and other materials that help reporters tell their stories with trustworthy and verifiable information.

Do Your Homework

Before engaging, look into the reporter’s previous coverage to determine
potential angles and questions. Also, be clear on the deadline the reporter is working under and set ground rules as to the topic, duration, on vs off the record before the interview starts.

Practice Makes Perfect

It is always a good idea to undergo regular media training and practice answering questions with your staff. How you present yourself can help build confidence with your audiences and make them more open to hearing the messages you need to deliver.

Be Clear on Topics, Message

Before agreeing to an interview, request additional details from the interviewer on the topics and/or themes they would like to cover. This vital information will streamline your interview preparation, ensure you deliver the messages you need your audiences to hear, and help prevent any “gotcha” questions.

Let Your Audience See You

In order to build trust, the public needs to see and hear from you. Embrace opportunities to engage with media and proactively create opportunities to demonstrate your commitment to a safe and secure election, such as inviting media to tests of voting equipment.

“They’re citizens. They’re professionals. They’re our neighbors. If we start to view our fellow citizens as our enemies, we’re lost.”
— David Becker (Republican push to recruit election deniers as poll workers causes alarm | June 30, 2022 – The Guardian)
“Election officials never get praised if elections go right and the wrath comes down on them if they do them wrong. When we saw election officials being prosecuted for just doing their jobs... we formed [EOLDN] and we do provide pro bono legal services to any election officials who need it.”
— Ben Ginsberg (Trump’s pressure on Pence more ‘unprecedented’ than ‘what we saw in Watergate’ | June 17, 2022 – MSNBC)
“Those who are threatening … these officials, whether they're full-time, whether they're volunteers, whether they're in positions of the most senior responsibility or they're simply on the staff — those who threaten them need to know they cannot act with impunity. There will be a defense and it will be a robust defense."
— Bob Bauer (Helping election officials who are threatened | March 14, 2022 – 60 Minutes Overtime, CBS News)
"What we are seeing developing now is a huge step backwards from a focus on professionalized election administration to a heavy level of political interference in the work of trained election professionals. Our hope now is to provide [election officials] with a resource I wish they didn't have to have, but one I think they have desperately needed."
— Bob Bauer (Election Workers Are Under Attack. A Group Of Lawyers Plans To Defend Them | September 8, 2021 – National Public Radio)
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