I am told that Michael Arcuri had a press conference yesterday, during which he called for an increase in the federal minimum wage. That's great. Mike Arcuri should be talking about the minimum wage - it's an issue that matters to a lot of people in our district, and raising the minumum wage is the right thing to do.
But where was the news of the event?
The Utica Observer-Dispatch didn't give it any coverage this morning. Neither did any other local newspapers that I can find - or television stations, or radio stations.
We could blame a media conspiracy of silence, but then again, there is one particular news outlet that could never be accused of being part of an anti-Arcuri conspiracy: The Arcuri for Congress web site.
Michael Arcuri's own campaign web site mentions nothing about the press conference, or about the minimum wage increase proposal. Why?
I have seen many political campaigns flounder because of a lack of control over their own web site. They hire expensive firms to do web design and maintenance, but these firms take control of the site, only making updates when it's convenient for them to do so.
The fact is that it really isn't very hard at all to add a new page to a web site, once the content is written. Presumably, Mike Arcuri had a short statement to make at yesterday's press conference. All that had to be done was copy and paste the text of that statement into a plain text format, add a few html tags, and it could be online with just 5 minutes of work.
I'd like to believe that the problem with the silence from Arcuri's own campaign about the candidate's activities has something to do with a stubborn web design company playing some kind of weird control games. The alternative explanation is just too depressing to think of without a shudder.
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Most media outlets won't bother printing propaganda from a campaign unless it's directly tied to a local bit of news. They covered MA's gas conference because they considered it timely. They didn't cover minimum wage, because although we may consider it a vital issue, there was no tie-in to breaking "news." That issue belongs in a targeted mailing, where it could be part of a MIKE VS. RAY informational piece--not in a press conference. Despite recent treks to DC, MA's campaign has a lot to learn. Meanwhile, you're right about the website--it's weirdly slow.
Heard on the radio that Brad Jones is out of the race; we're down to Meier vs. Arcuri, as expected. No sign of my favorite candidate, Ken Camera. . . .
With no primaries on either side, who will be the big money-maker?
Minimum wage? It's mostly a non-issue in the 24th because NYS has already increased the minimum wage well above what the Feds are likely to do even with a Democratic congress.
I suspect it's more of an attempt to put it on the record for what I hear is an already clinched endorsement from the Working Families Party in New York State. Which is another way of trying to gather even deeper union financial backing.
The OD would have covered it really well and really fast if it had been a Ray Meier release. What else would you expect from the former senator donovan's daughter in law/publisher?
Eventually they will cover it though. Right after they share it all with Ray and help him put a negative twist on it.
WKTV, the NBC affiliate in Utica, gave it quite good coverage that day.
That the Observer Dispatch did not cover it is inexplicable and surely has more to do with the OD than with the Arcuri campaign.
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