For immediate release: four ways to sell your senator.

• Author: Waldman, Steven

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

In the 1950s, there were only a handful of press secretaries on Capitol Hill. Today there are about 750. How do they keep busy? They write press releases--hundreds each week, thousands each year.

Since there is not enough real news to sustain this enormous outpouring, imaginations strain to meet the challenge of "what can we put in today's release?' In April, for example, Rep. Dan Glickman's press secretary put out a release that revealed for the first time to a breathless public the name of one of the congressman's summer interns. "I'm looking forward to having Pat in the office,' was just one of its meatier quotes. "I'm sure she will be a tremendous asset and will bring a fresh perspective to the issues we face.'

With material like this to choose from, it's not surprising that major news organizations immediately throw away 99 percent of the press releases they receive. This makes press secretaries nervous. If they want to avoid the garbage, they must capture the reader's attention fast.

Thus Rep. Les Aspin's press secretary proclaims, "Aspin Says Reagen Guilty of Felony Murder of Defense Budget,' and Rep. Thomas Downey's writes of the valued added tax, ""VAT is Devil's Work,' Downey Says.' Some of these attempts at snappy prose misfire, as did this effort on behalf of the senior senator from Wisconsin: "Proxmire Hearing to Focus on Whether Air Force Witness Gagged During Price Markup.'

But not all press secretaries work for members who covet national recognition. Indeed, many congressmen don't care about the national press at all. What they want most is to nurture and feed the newspapers and television stations in their districts. Their goal is not fame but reelection. These press secretaries need only follow a few basic principles of press releasery to practically guarantee eternal job security.

A star is born

The first principle is Make Sure Your Boss Likes the Release. Sometimes you may feel that in the interest of credibility it is better to soft-pedal the adjectives. But if the senator wants to be "bold' and "daring,' bold and daring he must be, even if fewer papers print the release. The papers can't fire you; the senator can.

The second principle, closely related to the first, is The Importance of Seeming Important. Even the lowliest member wants his constituents to think of him as moving among the mighty, gravely participating in the inner councils of state, sagely advising presidents, speakers, and cabinet members. Thus this recent release proclaimed: "U.S. Rep. James A. Traficant Jr. today called on the Supreme Court to "uphold the basic tenets of our Constitution . . ..'' The second paragraph explained that Traficant, one of the 12 congressmen who filed the anti-Gramm-Rudman suit, "appeared before the Supreme Court during the oral arguments.' Traficant did "appear' before the Court, much as you might...