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Debate Participants Don't Ask. Sell. Not Pictured

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By RICHARD MULLINS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 13, 2007

In a few weeks, St. Petersburg will host the CNN-YouTube debate, giving a fortunate 50 or so people a chance to pose their own questions to politicians hoping to become the Republican candidate for president.
CNN is now accepting questions recorded digitally and submitted through the video-sharing Web site YouTube.com, and will play selected questions for candidates to answer during the debates.

So out of thousands of questions submitted, how does CNN pick which questions to use, and how can you get yours used in the debate? We asked David Bohrman, CNN's Washington bureau chief, chief producer of the event and one of seven people helping pick roughly 40 questions from among more than 3,000 expected by airtime.

In short, it's a lot like pitching a business idea to a boss or customer - brief, sharp and direct, said William Wilmot, director of The Collaboration Institute, a business communications and mediation firm based in Anaconda, Mont. And just like asking a top company boss to fund your dream project at work, be confident, brief and memorable.

"I would not try to set up a trap, like 'When did you stop beating your wife?'" Wilmot said. "Politicians will smoke that out and just say 'Blah, blah, blah.' I would be concise and try to connect with the needs of your audience. Business people are good at that because they have to appeal to their customers, and in this case, the customer is the voter."

The debate overall has been a watershed for CNN, giving the network a way to reinvent the traditional presidential debates while also reaching younger generations that have largely created YouTube's success, Bohrman said. CNN now has roughly twice as many videos submitted compared with this time before the last debate, featuring the Democrats. For YouTube, now owned by Google, the pairing with CNN adds an aspect of national stature not yet matched by other video-sharing sites.

Here are other tips for getting your questions asked:

Tip 1: Make it Republican. "This is not a session of gotcha Democratic questions just meant to get the goat of Republicans," Bohrman said. "The point is for Republican voters to try and figure out which ones they want to support. Last time with the Democratic debate, we tried hard to make sure it wasn't just an excuse for them to beat up on President Bush, but to see the differences among them."

Bohrman expects questions on immigration, the use of harsh interrogation, taxes, Iraq policy, plus questions that illustrate the libertarian bent in the Republican party. At the Democratic debate, Bohrman said he was glad to see a question on Iran lead to debate that lingers now on how and if a president should talk directly with adversaries abroad.

Tip 2: Don't wait. The debate may be two weeks away, but Bohrman and others at CNN are already sorting through questions, and placing them in what they have nicknamed a "Bucket of 100" good candidates and rating them 1 to 5. That way, they will have reviewed most questions by the time a rush of last-minute questions come in.
CNN will cut off submissions Nov. 25 at midnight Pacific time, or 3 a.m. EST Nov. 26. That's just two days before the debate airs on Nov. 28.

Tip 3: Be memorable. Personal stories resonate well and make abstract subjects very concrete. The last debate featured a question by a talking snowman that generated some ridicule, Bohrman said, but it worked well because it triggered a more open discussion about global warming.

For this debate, Bohrman said he expects to receive many questions from military personnel returning from Iraq or who are in Iraq now.

Tip 4: Keep it respectful. Bohrman said obscenity may preclude using a question, unless there's a clear reason for its use. They've also rejected questions for exploiting children. For example, it may be OK to show a child who has cancer to ask a question about cancer (if done respectfully) but it's not OK to make a child do dangerous work on camera just to ask a question about dangerous working conditions abroad.

Tip 5: Speak clearly and use good audio. At the last debate, CNN had to throw out many good questions because they had sketchy audio. The questioner used a computer's own cheap microphone and sat too far away. That audio just didn't reproduce well enough in the large debate hall for candidates or viewers to hear. So, he suggests using a basic but good microphone connected to the computer.

Don't ramble. All questions must be 30 seconds or shorter. Hold the camera steady (or use a tripod), include your name and hometown in the description and be personal. Say why the question is important to you.

TO SUBMIT VIDEOS

GO TO: www.youtube.com/

republicandebate

CUTOFF TIME: midnight Nov. 25, PST, or 3 a.m. Nov. 26 EST.

EVENT TIME: The debate airs live at 8 p.m. Nov. 28.

WHERE: Mahaffey Theater, St. Petersburg

Reporter Richard Mullins can be reached at rmullins@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7919.

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