Election coverage draws candidate’s ire

Electioneering is rarely without controversy — so even if there are no hanging chads or appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court, there’s plenty for an Associated Student Government executive board candidate to worry about.

Such as representation in local media, which on this campus is dominated primarily by The Daily.

In Wednesday’s Election Guide, readers might have noticed a small editor’s note packaged with coverage of the presidential race. This disclaimer was an attempt to inform readers that our omission of a picture of presidential candidate Andrew Kaufman, a McCormick junior, was unavoidable and unintentional.

But for Kaufman’s campaign team, this was a disheartening decision.

“I specifically requested (a picture of myself with the No. 6 button), and the photo gentlewoman did not comply,” Kaufman wrote in a Thursday e-mail to The Daily. “I wanted the caption ‘I am not a number, I AM A FREE MAN!’ under it. That was part of my campaign strategy that may have actually been foiled by The Daily.”

Managing Editor Jerome C. Pandell said he thought the paper handled a difficult situation well by trying to accommodate Kaufman’s needs and notifying readers of the efforts made to include his photograph.

But he also laid some fault with Kaufman, who failed to show up to a presidential debate and also missed two of his own campaign events — all of which Daily reporters and photographers attended.

“Our hands were tied,” said Pandell, a Weinberg junior. “In terms of what we could have done to avoid the situation, there could have been better communication between the paper and his campaign.”

Though Kaufman objected to his treatment, he said he was confident the omission would not affect his campaign.

“The damage this has caused is minimal,” he wrote. “In swaying campus opinion, The Daily holds no importance whatsoever. It is looked at by most as simply a jerkwater publication.”

Though without media coverage many campaigns meet their demise, The Daily offers more than one day — and one style — of election analysis.

Aside from managing their public images, candidates also must worry about what has become a determining factor in many races in recent memory: the official Daily endorsements, which this year are announced Monday.

When ASG elections roll around, reporters work at a feverish pace to document candidates’ every move. But rarely are these experts allowed to cut through rhetoric and platform platitudes and offer informed opinions of each candidate’s ability to govern a student body of about 7,500.

The Daily conducts endorsements precisely for this reason.

The editorial board, comprising 15 staff members, meets for 15 minutes with each candidate.

Shira Toeplitz, the special projects editor, coordinates this process, and ensures that each participant is adequately versed in the candidate’s platforms and positions.

After questioning candidates Daily representatives discuss the merits and drawbacks to each, then take a preliminary vote on endorsements. If there are divisions, issues are further considered. Once the best candidate has been chosen for each position, the board decides to what degree — strongly or hesitantly — it supports each choice.

Pandell, who will participate for a third time in the endorsement process, said endorsements are an essential part of the paper’s campaign coverage.

“The Daily has a mission to cover everything on this campus that pertains to students,” he said. “We cover ASG ad nauseum, and it’s our place to help advise and inform students on who they should choose.

“The elections are serious — they determine a voice for the students within the administration.”

Public Editor Torea Frey is a Medill junior. She can be reached at [email protected]