It’s not often that we feel the need to run our own Opinion Pieces, but it feels like this needs to be known by others.
Despite the restrictions detailed below, OnTheWight will be doing what it can to keep the event open, including reporting live from the meeting.
There’s been a lot of concern voiced about quite how open Andrew Turner will be to press questioning at his re-election campaign launch this morning.
From what we’ve been experienced so far – it’s not looking good.
OnTheWight put in a request to interview Andrew just after his press conference (the interviews are called a 1-2-1s in the trade) but we were refused.
Interviews: Usually standard practice
Carrying out an interview with the person who has just presented at a press conference is utterly normal.
As you might expect, press conferences are heavily rehearsed and essentially are that person broadcasting at the press. The interesting part comes when the press get a chance to ask questions, as this isn’t to the predetermined script – it’s where the candidate gets to show their mettle.
Does Andrew know about this?
Well, to our amazement, Andrew Turner – or perhaps it’s just Chris Whitehouse (who is now, following recent events, controlling Andrew’s press) – isn’t running the event like that.
AT or AT & CW or just CW – it isn’t clear if Andrew is in on the picture of how things are being run – have decided that the normal turn of events won’t be happening for Andrew Turner’s launch.
What’s ringing in our ears is what we were told a few weeks back, that the event is going to be “a complete stitch-up”.
Wait a week for interview
Cllr Whitehouse told OnTheWight that he decided to give ‘another news outlet’ (we’re told by others that it’s the County Press) an “exclusive interview”, and that he “can’t go back on [his] word.”
This, we’ve been assured by other industry professionals, is unusual.
He then – laughably in our view – suggested that we might like to wait at least a week to be granted an audience with Mr Turner. We had to pinch ourselves just to confirm that we hadn’t fallen back into the 19th century, because that’s when a week was no time in news, not the 21st Century where news is often measured in minutes.
Views of a professional
Being taken aback by what to us seemed like over-control, we contacted someone who is a seasoned professional, working in very high-level politics and the media world. They were kind enough to write back a detailed response, which we’ve included in full, below.
I say this with no political agenda at all, but I think that Whitehouse may be doing a lot of damage if he is playing the press with access to the MP at a campaign launch. The best offence AND the best defence in a campaign launch is complete openness to the press.
In my view, trying to control access artificially at the beginning of a campaign is very bad practice. He needs to think twice about that. Andrew is not a high public-profile minister where the national media would want a “piece of him”, and even with UKIP concerns, this is a constituency campaign launch with local media.
You don’t do “exclusives” unless you have something big to announce…or if you have something to hide, therefore trying to control the message. Even in light of recent personal events, AT’s campaign shouldn’t feel or act like he has something to hide, given his bystander role in what allegedly happened, and what is, after all, a personal matter.
After a press conference of this sort, in a media market your size, you always offer 1-2-1s with proper press. There are no “exclusives” after a press conference.
There usually is a fight over who gets to go first after the press conference, in this 24-7 online media world we live in. But we’re talking about who gets the story out minutes before the others, not days.
The Island is way too small with only a handful of reputable media outlets (BBC Radio Solent and BBC South [often working in tandem], ITV Meridian, IW County Press, OnTheWight, IW Radio) to be playing access games with the press.
If you want the press to be as helpful as possible in a campaign, treat them well.
Our view
OnTheWight genuinely hopes that Andrew takes control of these matters and opens himself up for proper and wide-ranging questioning. He owes that to the people of the Island – his electorate.
Anything less can only damage his campaign.
Image: two-wrongs under CC BY 2.0
