Let's back up: How Untold Story meets The Gonzo Primary

Thinking about goals and aims, defining them clearly and executing the plan.

Photo by AbsolutVision on Unsplash.

I can’t remember exactly why I originally started to blog under the vague title of The Untold Story, but it’s a phrase I’ve found useful and has come up countless times in conversation for how I think about what drives me. As I once explained, The Untold Story is an ideal as much as an idea. I think about the icons of the profession and while they’re not necessarily telling the untold, their craft helps bring clarity to complex societal issues or lays bare a rarely seen common humanity. Every once in awhile, there’s someone who really does tell the untold — I’m thinking at the moment of Jon Krakauer’s work or Michael Lewis’s ability to lay bare corruption in plain site.

(To prepare mentally on how to reimagine the campaign trail, I’m planning to reread some Hunter S. Thompson and (for the first time) Boys on the Bus. I’d like to read something outside politics, something to inspire a little gravity. John McPhee feels of the moment. Any suggestions?)

While it’s a solid recipe for paralysis to try to hold myself to such standards, it is worth thinking about goals and aims, defining them clearly and executing the plan. What will The Gonzo Primary seek to accomplish? As I chronicle the effort here, how should I measure success?

A good a guide as any for world-eating questions lies at Newsletterguide.org with some deeper sage advice from former Politico editor Tim Grieve. I think the questions posed serve any successful publication, even if the idea is to perfect a newsletter, something I’m also thinking a lot about it with the launch of this thing here. This is free for now as I figure things out and grow an audience, but great journalism takes money so monetizing this eventually has to be part of the goal and to be able to pay others — the voices of those who are often left out of the conversation must be a part of an effort to get beyond the horse race in political primary coverage, and that means they should be compensated fairly.

I’ll take them one at a time, with the caveat that this is a work-in-progress and I might change my mind, especially as I work with journalist Justin Glawe and, I hope, others going forward on The Gonzo Primary.

• Who’s your audience?

A: Geez, wait to start with a tough one. Who do I want to read this? The first answer is “everyone.” We will all be affected by who the next president is and thoughtful analysis of the issues and taking stock of what’s really happening in America by using the coming campaign as a barometer will benefit anyone.

But that’s not a real answer and it’s a bit of a cop-out.

Who do I want to be in the audience? Who would benefit the most? 1) People in politics. Yes, they’ll be the most interested, even though part of this process will be to get away from the framing offered by the political class. So that means strategists, campaign wonks, traditional partisans and members of the campaign apparatus in the states we choose to focus on. 2) Policy wonks. It is essential that those who shape policy discussions get involved here or, at least, have the opportunity to shape a thoughtful conversation. 3) Motivated voters/people who really want to make an informed decision. I won’t pretend that every voter wants to keep up with an effort that chronicles the Democratic primary and the next election in a more thoughtful way.

• How will you serve that audience?

A: No journalist is omniscient. I will not pretend that this is the sole answer for media’s reductive coverage or getting beyond the horse race. But how can we make it the best answer?

First, it’s about asking this question to voters in key primary states, as spelled out by professor Jay Rosen as he explained the “citizen’s agenda” approach to campaign coverage:

It revolves around the power of a single question: “What do you want the candidates to be discussing as they compete for votes?” From good answers to that everything else in the model flows. 

A few things about that question, “What do you want the candidates to be discussing as they compete for votes?” Notice what it is not. It is not “who’s going to win?” It’s not “who are you going to vote for?” And it’s not “which party would do a better job at addressing…” For the whole purpose of the citizens agenda approach is to find an alternative to the horse race style in campaign coverage, which starts with “who’s gonna win?” What are the keys to winning? How close is the race? Which tactics seem to be working? What do the latest polls say?

In bars, on the streets, in homeless shelters and other places we plan to ask: “What should the candidates be talking about?” This will help identify pain points and take the campaign coverage out of the spin of both the political media storyline of the day, which often reflect the latest opposition research dump or where shadowy PACs and other players are trying to pull the message, and back into the hands of the people.

So, on the ground interviews in key Democratic primary states. Second, I think we have to dive into the story behind the story. If Candidate X is being attacked on X issue, what’s the deeper story, the deeper truth either about that issue or that issue’s actual relevance on the ground? That will require establishing a deeper level of analysis not usually present in day-to-day journalism. (There are some forays into this kind of coverage by Vox, the Upshot and 538 that we can aggregate as useful forms of coverage and, when warranted, when the MSM gets things right).

So to sum up The Gonzo Primary’s value to readers:

1) On-the-ground coverage that dives into state issue through the lens of those on the ground in key primary states.

2) Analysis — data and otherwise — that seeks to highlight issues over politics.

• Why do we care about that audience?

  A: They are a mix of agenda-setters and voters who, maybe…just maybe… can both go to the polls a little more informed and help media reshape its reductive narrative.

• No, really, what’s the payoff?

  A: Damn, you are after it anonymous question-asker. OK. Here’s the aggressive payoff: readers will get an unfiltered understanding of what really matters with a better sense of place than anywhere else on the whole wide Web.

• Who will write the newsletter?

  A: Me. And, I hope, others. Hence monetizing — I might be willing to do crazy shit for free, but I don’t expect others to … and don’t want to have to ask. Part of expenses is to get other writers/thinkers with different perspectives to weigh in.

• Who will do the design/development/production work required, and how will we pay for it?

  A: Me. Also … Any takers? Going to have to come back to this one. I think The Gonzo Primary can primarily be delivered through this and other newsletters , with a landing page and site with key resources. That will take work from others, and I’m still thinking through exactly who might be interested.

• How will you promote and market the newsletter?

  A: This is a great question, and I’m not great at promotion. Personal social media channels and new ones dedicated to the project come to mind, but this bears more thought. Direct emails to sources and others in Democratic primary states.

• How will you track your progress?

  A: Level of engagement from audience (feedback and thoughts) and new newsletter subscribers are key metrics. Moving the needle on other media, thought leaders and helping voters make informed choices are harder to measure but are also important goals.

Marketing is time-consuming and a bit more difficult. The money part? That will be tough but I’m hoping to build something of grassroots support here so when I put my hand out for a modest contribution, you’ll know the value already.