The terms “earned media” and “free media” refer to the ability of a political campaign to generate media coverage of its candidate or campaign issues without having to pay for it. Over time, the rising cost of television advertising and the frontloading of the presidential campaign season have forced political campaigns to devote large percentages of their campaign budgets to the purchase of airtime. This has made it important for campaigns to structure events that elicit favorable press coverage without the need to purchase airtime.
The retail politics practiced during the early days of the primary season affords candidates countless opportunities to be seen interacting directly with regular people, which is undoubtedly why this campaign style has not totally died out over time. Candidates also schedule press conferences, release provocative talking points or tweets, hold town hall meeting events, go on whistle-stop campaign tours by train or bus, and participate in rallies and other constructed events to draw media coverage. Campaign events are often scheduled at schools, factories, military bases, or retirement centers to generate photo opportunities that will portray candidates in a favorable light. The rise of the twenty-four-hour news cycle has virtually guaranteed candidates some amount of coverage for any event that their campaigns stage. And the advent of newer technology such as the Internet has greatly expanded opportunities for campaigns to generate coverage for their candidates.
In the Campaign of 2016, GOP hopeful Donald Trump became notorious for his ability to generate earned media coverage, making a seemingly endless series of controversial statements, calling out his political opponents for perceived inadequacies, and accusing the press of incompetence and bias in their coverage of him, often in late-night tweets to his many followers. These manufactured controversies served the purpose of keeping him continuously in the media limelight during the invisible primary, without Trump having to spend campaign funds or his personal wealth in exchange for the coverage. As a consequence, Trump performed well in the polls, as he literally crowded the other candidates off of the front page and out of the airwaves.
See also Soft News
Patlak, Dan. “How to Get on the Radio: A Big Earned Media Campaign Opportunity.” Campaign and Elections, June 2001, p. 62.
Zavattro, Staci M. “Brand Obama: The Implications of the Branded President.” Administrative Theory and Praxis 32, no. 1 (2010): 123–129.