You may be tuning out, but that’s why I’m dialed in. It’s the story you want to turn away from, but just can’t stop watching. The unfolding saga of the midterm elections.

MEDIA

The midterms are a week away and that’s where the national media is focused with political reporters working overtime. Partly because many of these races could go either way in shifting the power of Congress, but mostly because it serves as an indicator for how the press will blame or credit MAGA candidates for their wins or losses leading into the 2024 presidential race. That’s all the coverage seemingly centers on - economic issues be damned. Covering local races with national implications is quintessential storytelling. That’s why journalists must take every opportunity to inform the viewer rather than simply follow the gossip as I explain in my post this month.

Story

Flawed characters make good TV

Every narrative television writer knows a flawed protagonist is the only kind of protagonist. In the story of life, the main character at the center of controversy this midterm election cycle is Herschel Walker. To call him flawed would be an understatement, which is why he can’t escape the media scrutiny…

Read more

5 months ago · Tara Wall

Here’s a snippet of some of the analysis I provided on News Nation about the optics of these races.

MAKERS

This is also the first election cycle with newly minted Twitter CEO Elon Musk at the helm of the social media behemoth.

Elon Musk @elonmusk

Dear Twitter Advertisers

1:08 PM ∙ Oct 27, 2022

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745,090Likes114,093Retweets

Given all the election vitriol that has seen abusers banned, it’ll be interesting to see what voices are restored, how many additional companies pull ads and more Hollywood elites pull out in protest of Musk’s free speech pronouncements. He had this message for all of them.

In the relentless pursuit of clicks, much traditional media has fueled and catered to those polarized extremes, as they believe that is what brings in the money, but, in doing so, the opportunity for dialogue is lost. That is why I bought Twitter.

Musk goes on to explain that a new monitoring authority is being put in place and no decisions about content moderation will be made until it has convened. Suffice it to say, Twitter users and non-users alike will all be watching pre and post midterms.

MARKETING

Speaking of advertisers, a record amount of ad spending has been pumped into this election cycle, good for media coffers and campaign consultants. Unfortunately some of what we’ve seen on the air has bordered on the despicable, which is not so great for taming the tenor of societal discourse. Making the Sunday TV talk show rounds, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu was spot on about toning down the rhetoric on both sides of the aisle.

MOVIES

And if you’re curious about the strategy that goes into crafting political messaging or just need a history refresh about the ‘Party of Lincoln’ reference I made in the video clip above, check out my documentary, Souled Out.

WATCH SOULED OUT

You’ll definitely gain some insight into the sausage-making process and have something to add to your binge list for the weekend before the election.