HOW TV STATIONS CAN WIN BIG IN 2008 ELECTIONS

A billion dollars in advertising is up for grabs in the presidential campaigns now getting underway. That's on top of all the money that will be spent on TV by Senate, House, gubernatorial and local candidates and advocacy groups. The experts agree: More money than ever before will be spent on media leading up to the 2008 elections. Are you poised to get your share?

In the past, TV stations crammed as many political spots into newscasts as viewers could stomach—and even then had to turn away some business. Now, in this digital era, stations can create a Web presence that should be attractive to those wishing to reach an informed and likely-to-vote electorate.

Here are some ways to achieve it:

1. Create a separate political area on your site.

It's not enough just to create a separate politics page on your Web site. It has to be rich with content, provocative and bursting with videos and commentary. If all that you have on the site are political bios and repurposed pieces from your 6 o'clock news from three nights ago, the core audience you want to attract will quickly realize that it's not worth bookmarking your page, and move on to something more substantive and nutritious.   

2. Augment the political reporting you do on your own air.

Hire the recently laid off or retired political columnist from the local paper. Have him or her write a daily column and a daily blog where viewers to your site can interact with the columnist and each other. Use the columnist on-air occasionally, as an informed sound bite inside your political packages, or in live talkbacks.

3. Create controversial and entertaining video content that can be e-mailed around by your viewers.

Long before MSNBC's Keith Olbermann started registering ratings gains, his pithy and sometimes outrageous commentaries became staples on video sharing sites, political sites and cable industry sites. Though there is only one Olbermann, the idea is transferable: Find people who have something to say about the candidates and issues in your area, and give them a forum on your Web site to say them. The more pointed and provocative, the better. Let your TV audience also get to know them, but make the Web their daily, regular home. Make sure the clips are easily e-mailed. Cover all sides of the political spectrum.

4. Become the destination in your market for fresh, updated political video.

Invite people who attend campaign appearances to capture speeches with their video phones and make it easy for them to upload the video. Word of this will quickly spread, and your site will become a valued local destination for seeing and hearing what each candidate said that day.

5. Go in-depth.

On television, we've all learned it's about being brief. On the Web, it's the opposite. Go deep. Do hour-long interviews with each candidate and put it on the Web site, but broken into searchable topics. Ask your viewers to post reactions to the political interviews. Invite the candidates to be questioned by viewers via e-mail. Become the destination for all local poll results. Conduct your own polls, as well.

6. Market your site like crazy.

Make sure the campaign leaders in every race know the extent of your efforts. They will quickly see that it's to their advantage to upload the latest video of their candidate to your site. They'll also check back often to see what the other side is doing. Create a segment on one of your newscasts that highlights the best of what's on the site: this could be a nightly feature. It shouldn't be dull. (If your market has its own "macaca" incident, you want to be the place that breaks it.) Sit with your sales department and make sure they understand this ambitious undertaking and why it's a powerful incentive to attract new political dollars to your site.

The benefits to this intensive political site are clear. First off, it's good, compelling journalism, updated for 21^st century news consumers. Second, it enhances the position of the station brand in the market as a creator of exclusive and valuable content. Third, it creates new venues for advertisers—political and others, a place to steer those political dollars you don't want to turn away. Fourth, by encouraging consumers to e-mail segments and post their own videos and opinions, you are exponentially expanding both reach and frequency.

Finally, you are attracting a younger demo that doesn't necessarily watch the news on your mother ship.

Mark Effron is a veteran broadcast news executive, having spent many years at Post-Newsweek Stations. Most recently, he was vice president of daytime programming for MSNBC. He's currently a consultant as well as finishing up the first in a series of mystery novels with a broadcast news background. He can be reached at markeffron@gmail.com.