In 1855, a young lawyer from Springfield, IL stopped by the downtown offices of the Chicago Tribune. He was renewing his subscription and asked to see the publisher. He happened to be sitting at his desk, and was happy to speak with the curious attorney. A contact was made, a relationship was forged. The lawyer? Abraham Lincoln. The publisher? Joe Medill. This initial conversation spurred a friendship that would lead to Lincoln becoming President in 1860. No space in this post for that story, but there is a lot we can learn from this event and the historical relationship between our country’s president’s and the press-

1. Personal relationships are best begun face-to-face. Taking a page from Mark S. Luckie’s terrific post on his 10,000 words blog about getting from behind your laptop and in front of people. That is why I go to as many conferences as possible. Tweetup rhymes with Meetup. Yes, email–nor Twitter–was around in 1855. I get the feeling even if Honest Abe had a Gmail account, he still would have preferred a handshake over an IM.

2. Your subjects are not always what they appear. In 1840, William Henry Harrison ran on what historians call the “Log Cabin” campaign. He was portrayed in the media as just a regular Joe, a war hero, the first true Washington outsider candidate. He won the presidency in a electoral landslide. This is meaningful because the reality of Harrison’s life was quite different than what the media trumped him up to be. Ironically, in an attempt to look the part of war general, he caught pneumonia on the day of his inauguration, riding around the streets of Washington on a cold day without an overcoat or hat. He died 31 days after taking office.

3. Don’t become a Jelly Bean journalist. Elected President in 1980, Ronald Reagan was a master at manipulating his image. During his Republican Party nomination acceptance speech, he famously led the entire Detroit audience in prayer. If you watch clips of Reagan at early White House meetings, he was constantly reaching into a bottomless jar of jellybeans that was always at arm’s length. The idea? By using television, Reagan reminded Americans that he too was a regular guy who enjoyed candy just like your Uncle Fred or your brother Bob. I mean, come on, who doesn’t like jelly beans? We are little more sophisticated today than in 1980, but it’s easy to let emotions cloud objectivity. Analyze who we cover as people, not as well-crafted images.

4. Journalists can be influential. Finishing with Lincoln, Joe Medill was looking to raise the national awareness of his fledgling Chicago Tribune in 1855. He needed a presidential face to rally behind. When the two men met, their actions aligned with their intentions. Medill found his candidate and Lincoln found his platform. Over 150 years later, this relationship between a newspaper editor and presidential candidate would be frowned upon, and rightfully so. But Medill was very active in planning the landmark Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858. The was a media event, the first of its kind between two political candidates. What innovative ideas are you bringing to your newsroom that if implemented, could be influential?

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