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While some political campaigns aggressively pitch New York Times reporters to get coverage, Nevada Senate hopeful Sharron Angle appeared on the front page of today’s National edition for a different reason: She's avoiding the media.
Angle, a Republican candidate favored by tea party activists, is currently battling Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in a statewide race with national repercussions. But reporters at both the local and national level are having very little luck getting access to the Republican candidate.
Times reporter Brian Stelter writes that Angle’s refusal to answer simple questions has led to “some unusually aggressive behavior by local television stations,” including chasing the candidate on foot, paparazzi-style. These days, Stelter points out, candidates do have more options than in the past, and can avoid a local news reporter while heading to alternative (and perhaps more sympathetic) outlets or social media sites.
It’s looking, in other words like Angle may be following the playbook of fellow tea party heroine Sarah Palin. The former Alaska governor actively uses Facebook and Twitter to circumvent what she calls the mainstream — or sometimes “lamestream” — media filter. When Palin actually does interviews it’s typically with conservative talk radio hosts or on Fox News, which pays her as a contributor.
A little advice to the Tea Party candidate is that it will be locals who casts ballots for or against you in November.