A national role for local media

Abstract

If there is one thing that unites the main parties in the forthcoming election, it is how they can overcome the widespread disaffection and disenchantment felt by many voters. Minority parties such as Ukip and the Green Party have capitalised on this disconnect to exploit the sense of antipathy felt by many that the big three are all the same. As the political landscape has changed and a more diverse and congested electoral battleground has emerged, campaign managers and spin doctors are refining their media strategies. In particular, they are planning to court local media as much as national media. Campaign managers have always built local media coverage into their battle plans, alongside the set-piece speeches, manifesto launches, television debates and rallies geared towards a national audience. The difference now is that local and regional newspapers are key targets in the mass political charm offensive. This is partly a strategic response to the damaging perception that the electorate sees them as an out-of-touch Westminster elite. One way of addressing this cynicism is to connect their policy pledges to local issues in local communities. The best vehicle for this is the local media, which they see not only as lacking the bias of national titles but also better informed about the issues that matter to their readers, and therefore voters. We had a taste of this new strategy during the byelection in Rochester and Strood, an acrimonious and bitterly contested fight. Within days of the defection of the Conservative MP Mark Reckless to Ukip and the news