Election cycle is upon us — again

Consider this a bit of an inside baseball piece.

No, I’m not talking about Albert Pujols taking his talents to the West Coast.

This is a primer on how newspapers try to handle election cycle coverage.

Generally, an editor or publisher will decide which candidates should win, and then reporters will do all they can to dig up dirt on the opponents. If they can’t find anything, they just make up lies and exaggerate innuendo.

Then, the politicians become pawns of the all-powerful media.

OK, show of hands: Who really believes that?

You, you and you put your hands down. You lost last time, but it wasn’t the media’s fault. If you had advertised in the local newspaper more …

No, seriously, you lost because your opponent had better ideas or articulated them better or got his/her supporters to the polls in larger numbers. Or, that advertising thing …

At any rate, media outlets face a monumental task when covering candidates and races in any election cycle. This job gets even bigger in those years when the big important offices — you know, land commissioner — come up for a vote.

Covering an election cycle starts a few hours after the secretary of state certifies the results of the balloting just finished. This is when candidates start announcing that they’re gonna run for sheriff or state Senate or whatever. They take to Facebook or Twitter and tell their “friends” that they’re in the “race,” even though there’s not a race at that point.

This is the first decision media folks face — are these announcements actual announcements? If so, does the “candidate” then get a chance to make a “formal” announcement later? The answer to both questions might be yes, and that’s two bites at the same apple, and it’s a pain in the neck trying to keep track of where these informal and formal announcements appeared, what type size the headline was and how many column inches each person got. (If you think candidates fail to burn these things into their memory, look up the word “petty” in the dictionary.)

Then comes the actual filing period, where “candidates” become candidates. Sometimes, all the announced public servants follow through and plunk down a filing fee to run for office, but that’s not always the case. Once the filing period ends, the slate is ready, sort of. There might be an independent candidate or two floating around out there somewhere, and those folks will be wanting, deservedly so, equal treatment.

After the filing period will come financial contribution reports. This is where it gets entertaining. This person gave money to this person, even though he goes to church with the other candidate. Often, all sorts of little nuggets like that come along.

Finally, what seems like years after the first “candidate” tossed a figurative hat into a ring, a primary election will come along to allow the political parties to choose candidates. In Arkansas, that used to mean that whoever won the Democratic primary was the new officeholder. Times have changed. Republican primaries are just as, if not more, important in many parts of the state. The Green Party is fielding candidates, too.

So, after the primaries, we’re back to this fundraising period, and this is where the pie auctions and fish fries start. The question comes: “Why don’t you cover my event Saturday afternoon?”

Well, most media outlets don’t cover fundraisers. If they do, it’s usually to talk to whatever big-name supporter is there to stand beside the candidate for photos.

We usually don’t cover fundraisers, but we’re all over debates, and even those aren’t what they used to be.

There was a time when a panel of journalists would ask questions and candidates would answer them. Not so much anymore. Now, the candidate will skirt the issue for one sentence and then get back to the talking points until the red light comes on.

And then, on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, the general election. That night, the apparent winner will be easy to reach by telephone or in person. The apparent loser is nowhere to be found.

Such is life on the political beat.

And heaven save us from a runoff.

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Rick Fahr is publisher of the Log Cabin Democrat in Conway. His e-mail is rick.fahr@thecabin.net.