Endorsements Lose Punch, but Hopefuls Still Seek Nod

In a ritual as old as corruption and sex scandals, candidates during each election make the rounds of local newspapers and television stations, slapping backs and reiterating their positions for editorial boards in an attempt to woo endorsements.

Once endorsed, the ordained often trumpet their status to the electorate, using the blessing of the media as a quasi-seal of approval. And then, the ordained candidates often lose.

Despite constant grumbling from politicians about the media’s ability to make or break a candidate, an endorsement from a major newspaper, television or radio station clearly doesn’t carry that much weight. The sample ballots with recommendations printed by the major daily papers rarely resemble the results.

Last Tuesday’s City Council election was fairly typical. Of the four races, the San Diego Union and the San Diego Tribune both endorsed Bruce Henderson (who barely made it into a runoff against little known Valerie Stallings, escaping defeat by 25 votes) and Andrea Palacios Skorepa (who was crushed by Bob Filner, 70.4% to 26.1%.) The Times endorsed Stallings and Filner, but joined the Union and Tribune in recommending Wes Pratt, who was defeated by George Stevens, 52.1% to 47.9%.

Endorsements by the big media outlets used to be important, said political consultant David Lewis. “But, in this metropolitan area, I don’t think they’re worth a whole helluva lot.”

The classic example bandied about by politicos is the 1984 supervisorial campaign, when Lynn Schenk was endorsed by almost every media outlet in town, only to lose a tight race to Susan Golding.

San Diego is bigger, more sophisticated and more distrusting of the established media giants than it used to be, Lewis said, noting that the power of community papers has grown, because “people find them more credible and relate to them more personally.”

In an election with a large turnout--a rarity these days--the endorsements may have more impact because there will be more marginal and less-informed voters who might be more inclined to follow an endorsement, Lewis said.

The prevailing logic is that endorsements can make a difference in a close election, or they can buoy the credibility of a lesser-known contender. But that didn’t help put Pratt over the top nor help Skorepa attract votes.

“The key, I feel, is how the candidate uses the endorsement,” KNSD-TV (Chanel 39) editorial director Tim Chelling said.

Lewis pointed out that Skorepa may have benefited more from her endorsements if she had had more money to spend on mailers to tout them.

On the other hand, when a candidate publicizes an endorsement it can backfire.

Though editorials rarely have any influence on coverage, the public often perceives an endorsement as reflecting bias in a newsroom’s coverage of a campaign. To those who regularly follow politics and media, the endorsements are generally predictable--representing the often understood point of view of the endorser.

“My studies show that, in large cities nationwide, an endorsement from a large paper has a slightly negative effect,” said Dan Greenblat, a longtime local political consultant who is now a spokesman for for Sheriff Jim Roache. “There is a certain cynicism that plays out in the electorate.”

In general, people are reading newspapers less, Greenblat points out, which further diminishes the power of an endorsement. And “an attack editorial has much more influence than a positive one, which says a lot about our society,” he said.

Yet, for better or worse, politicos see the media as the one reasonably independent voice commenting on a campaign, and, to them, that makes endorsements valuable.

“An endorsement is important as a statement from educated people who do take their role seriously,” Greenblat said.

If media were to stop doing endorsements it would be “further indication of the erosion of the political process,” Chelling said. People would ask, “If the media are not going to be involved, why should I?”

After more than two years of calling in regularly to the KFMB-AM (760) “Hudson and Bauer Show,” Keith Taylor, the insurance salesman who became known as “the guy who lives in a dipsy Dumpster” and a dozen other characters, is off the air. The radio station will no longer accept his calls.

A recent routine in which Taylor, posing as an ex-NBA referee, said he was a frustrated jock who couldn’t play because he had “white man’s disease: I couldn’t tell black guys from one another,” was the “last straw,” according to Joe Bauer.

Taylor said the joke was not intended as racist, and he was surprised by the station’s reaction.

“I went from being on the air to being a non-person,” said Taylor, who moonlights as a stand-up comedian. “I had no idea I was skating on thin ice.”

Bauer, acknowledging that maybe he didn’t do enough to warn Taylor that his calls were raising concern, said KFMB management had been complaining that Taylor’s on-air bits had been “obnoxious” for several months.

Channel 39’s worthy topics sometimes get lost in the tabloid rhetoric the station uses to promote itself. In Channel 39 Speak, police officers either wore “a badge of honor or a shield of shame” in teasers to last week’s “Third Thursday” show. . . .

There have been persistent rumors that the sale of KRMX-FM (94.9) to Anaheim Broadcasting has fallen through. Not true, says Anaheim president Tim Sullivan. He still expects to take over the station before the end of the year, probably around the end of October. . . .

Sports Guy Larry Sacknoff, who is now officially off the air at Channel 10, has hired a publicist to help San Diegans keep abreast of his activities. . . .

While the underwear-exposing tape of the Deputies vs. Betty Broderick jailhouse skirmish made for sensational video, Channel 39 was professional enough to take the time to adequately explain that the tape documented only a small portion of the incident, not what happened before and after, and that the video was released by the attorney repesenting a deputy suing Broderick. . . .

Roger Hedgecock has signed a new three-year deal with KSDO-AM (1130). Although no dollar figures were announced, industry sources say the deal is certainly worth $150,000 to $200,000 a year.