These tips were prepared for assignment editors attending a BPJ/NewsLab workshop in March 2002.

Planning Ahead for Politics: Ten Tips

contributed by Frank Wolff, KRCA, Sacramento

  Divide and conquer

No one can do it all on their own. Try a team approach and get more people involved. Splitting your races up by geographic area works well. Put someone in charge of state races, someone else can handle counties, someone else takes local measures, etc.

  Make a master list of story ideas

Assemble a list of stories six weeks before an election. Start by getting all the ballot information. Put all the big races on your list, the obvious ones that you know youll cover. Include anything interesting that you find. Maybe its the first woman to run for judge, a high number of unopposed candidates, controversial or interesting local measures. Add some franchises like follow the money or truth tests. Include the obvious stories that you know youll cover like voter turnout, need for poll workers, third-party candidates. You may come up with some different ways to do the same old stories. Start big and pare it down to your best stories.

  Know where you want to go&and work backward

Election night is your Super Bowl. Meet with your managers a few weeks before the election and decide where you want your crews on election night. Those races should be your priority and the same reporters should cover those races leading up to election day. If you know where youre going to end up, you can plan a good route to get there.

  Files&files&files

Make background files for all your big races. Fill them with newspaper articles, press releases, voter guides, candidate statements, bios, arguments in favor/against measures, contacts and phone numbers. Keep them in a central place where reporters, producers, writers and anyone else can access the information.

  Find some experts

Put together a stable of experts that you can call on. Find some good non-partisan experts, like college professors, who can help you with truth test or ad watch stories. Try advocacy groups like Common Cause; taxpayer groups (theyre always opposed to something); party spokespeople; recently retired office holders; a former mayor or state legislator; or a termed-out congressman.

  Make a political calendar

Your computer is full of stories but you cant keep track of whos doing what and when its running. Heres a solution: make a calendar on a big dry-erase board. That allows you to see the entire month. Put all your scheduled events on it like debates, candidate forums, and release dates for polls. Then you can fill in holes as needed and keep track of what you have and have not done.

  Plug in your reporters early

Assign your reporters early and you will greatly increase your chances of getting good stories. Give them some background and some time to think about their story. Theres nothing worse than handing someone a political story they know nothing about and telling them it needs to be on the air at 5:00.

  Tracking and banking

Know when candidates will be in your market and plan accordingly. Know how to get in touch with the other side. Bank interviews when you get the opportunity. If the No On whatever ballot representatives are in town, get them on tape. You may not need that sound today, but chances are you will at some point.

  HFR tapes

Save tapes and youll save yourself a lot of headaches. What should you save? When someone announces theyre running, someone gets a key endorsement, a big rally, precinct walks, debates, one on one interviews, etc. You never know when you need that one bite, and you can never have too much b-roll.

  Set your own agenda

Just because a candidate or Yes On whatever holds a news conference, it doesnt mean you have to do the story that day. Take the time to do the story right; fight the urge to do it right now. Find the people who it affects, get into neighborhoods and talk to the people who want to see more parks built, or who are fighting for campaign finance reform. Make the candidates talk about the issues that are important to your viewers dont let candidates or spokespeople set the agenda.