There's no doubt about it -- it's crunch time for everyone in politics, including journalists covering the seven Democrats competing for the highest office in the land.
Every reputable media outlet has its political reporters working full-time on election 2004. And, Hanover is seeing more media pour into town as the Jan. 27 New Hampshire primary inches closer.
The stakes are high. Each of the contenders must be carefully followed by what reporters themselves say is an extremely volatile group of journalists. Moving back and forth across the country, reporters are a step behind the candidates, notebook in hand, preparing to share with their readers and viewers the day's highlights from the campaign trail.
Houston Chronicle political correspondent Julie Mason describes the media frenzy as "incredibly intense." Mason's days are occupied visiting every possible campaign venue, where she is often less interested in the candidate's standard stump speech and more into talking to voters about their perceptions and feelings concerning the presidential candidate.
"Civilians believe that journalists sit around and decide the winner and losers, when really, we speak to the actual voters," Mason said. "That's where our predictions come from. That's news."
Bennett Roth, Mason's Houston Chronicle colleague, added that he has been most intrigued by the "wild shifts in the public support" for the candidates.
"Polls have their place, but they're too much of a crutch," Roth said. "Look at what happened in Iowa."
Being assigned to the campaign "beat" is no simple task. Reporters, including Mason and Roth, can lose almost total control over their lives.
Candidates' schedules control where they sleep, what they eat, when they write--and a host of other factors they only wish they could command. Mason joked about the current cold she's developed from the frigid temperatures in both Iowa and New Hampshire, and being constantly hip to hip with her colleagues.
"We all laugh, at least, because we've all got it," she said.
Indeed, being a campaign correspondent is easily a political reporters dream, but it can be their worst nightmare at the same time.
In an age where virtually every American household has a internet connection and a television set to provide minute-by-minute updates, the daily print media has become a unique news medium. Add to that the candidates' relentless pursuit of the camera, and print journalists often find themselves at a disadvantage.
In response, Mason explains that "papers are trying to make political coverage more interesting," through graphics, new writing styles and other mechanisms to make readers more interested.
Newspapers, though, still have tremendous influence. Mason explained that "people who follow politics tend to get their news from the newspaper," and as such, politicians gear specific and truly newsworthy messages to her and her colleagues.
Aamer Haleem is an on-air host for the television network VH-1, preparing a special on the Democratic campaign in New Hampshire. His show is designed to offer viewers a taste of the candidates' social and cultural backgrounds, taking their character "beyond policy and promises."
Haleem has found the most notable candidates the most difficult to come by, often chasing them for a few words on camera. He remains determined, though, to satisfy his viewers interests on issues not widely publicized. "We just go there," said Haleem. "We just get the story."
