Where Marc Dann goes, headlines follow — that's the way he ...



Where Marc Dann goes, headlines follow — that's the way he wants it

Ohio's attorney general says media coverage helps deter bad behavior; critics say he is stroking his ego.

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By Laura A. Bischoff

Staff Writer

Sunday, November 11, 2007

COLUMBUS — As a rookie state senator, Democrat Marc Dann knew how to do something more seasoned politicians often struggle with: capture media attention to build his political career.

As a new attorney general, Dann is managing to do the same on a national level, scoring interviews with the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, USA Today, Business Week, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post.

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Heady stuff for an attorney whose last law office was in a strip mall.

In his first 10 months in office, Dann's name was mentioned in 550 stories in major newspapers — more than what his predecessors Jim Petro and Betty Montgomery got in their first 10 months combined.

It isn't by mistake.

Dann's press office aggressively pitches interviews with the attorney general to newspapers big and small. TV and radio interviews are also prized. Dann jumped at a chance to guest host a Cleveland radio show, even though it meant a three-hour commitment starting at 5:30 a.m.

"I absolutely positively want to do it," Dann e-mailed to his press handlers.

In April, Dann press secretary Jennifer Brindisi e-mailed him about an interview with the New York Times. "I've dubbed you the new shareholder Sheriff on the state front," Brindisi wrote.

A month later, the New York Times ran an 830-word story about Dann with the headline: "In Search of a New Sheriff, One Stands Out."

Dann said the press is coming to him, not the other way around.

"I'm actually doing things that have attracted attention," he said. Legal action — and the accompanying publicity — can raise awareness and deter bad behavior, he said. "One of the best things about this job is if you bring an action, you can deter people from engaging in the same sort of rip-offs."

Ohio Republican Party Deputy Chairman Kevin DeWine has a different take: "No amount of national media exposure can make up for the shame and embarrassment Marc Dann has brought to the office of the Ohio attorney general. Dann's aggressive pandering to the national media is nothing more than an attempt to stroke his oversized ego and fill his campaign coffers."

Dann, who wants to be chairman of the national Democratic Attorneys General Association, spent $2.3 million on his campaign for attorney general last year and has $331,442 cash in his campaign account, according to campaign finance reports.

When the press coverage doesn't go his way, Dann's staff is quick to strike back.

In June, Communications Director Leo Jennings III wrote to journalists in Mansfield: "I must tell you that in more than two decades of working with the editors, publishers and reporters, I have never encountered a more egregious instance of what appears to be a calculated attempt to ignore, distort, or torture the facts of a story to fit a preconceived conclusion."

Jennings, a political operative from Youngstown and one of Dann's close friends, calls reporters' bosses when he disagrees with their reporting and criticizes stories that hammer Dann.

"It is one of the worst pieces of reporting ever," Jennings wrote to a co-worker about a story in The Columbus Dispatch that noted makers of gambling machines gave $20,000 to help pay for Dann's inaugural festivities.

When AG staffers neglect to offer media interviews to Dann, they hear about it.

"Did anyone consider me for the dogfighting interview?" Dann e-mailed Brindisi when she suggested National Public Radio talk to someone else for a dogfighting story.

As a state senator, Dann built a reputation as an advocate for open government and twice sued the previous administration to gain access to public records. When Dann took office, he announced e-mails would be retained for 180 days, instead of 30 days, in the interest of transparency.

But the response to the Dayton Daily News' request for the office's e-mails was neither fast nor complete. In June, the Daily News asked for e-mails among Dann and his top staff for the first five months of his administration. Dann's office released about 350 e-mails in August and more than 4,000 in October. The released e-mails cover about two of the five requested months.

In the records the office did release, Dann is quick to jump on topics gaining traction in the press.

In April, a Columbus TV station asked if Dann would be doing something akin to New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's investigation of universities' relationships with student loan vendors.

"We currently are aware of this — but have not taken any action or are aware of any situations like this in OH. This could possibly pop up again somewhere AND conversation will occur between MED (Marc E Dann) and Cuomo soon," Brindisi e-mailed to senior staff.

Two days later, Chief Deputy Attorney General Brian Laliberte sent an e-mail to co-workers: "Marc has decided to take a national role in investigating and prosecuting student loan steering by university/college financial aid officers. I have a call at

4:30 with NY and at 5:00 with Texas."

Dann's regional offices are often on the look-out for speaking engagements, particularly when a large crowd is promised.

Brittany Born of Dann's Cincinnati office suggested Dann try to get on the agenda at a conference on minority health care that promised 2,000 attendees.

Dann said he would be interested "only if I have a significant role."

Dann's Regional Public Affairs Coordinator John Sauter pushed to get Dann out to county fairs and festivals this summer — an idea Born liked.

She e-mailed Sauter: "I completely agree. Especially in smaller towns/counties, it really means a lot to them to see elected officials of Marc's stature at their events."

Tim Smith, a journalism professor at Kent State University, said Dann shows a keen understanding of how the press works and how it can help his career.

"I have a strong suspicion he doesn't want to have his political career top out in the Ohio attorney general's office," Smith said.

But Dann said he has his eye only on the attorney general's office.

"I love this job," he said. "It is, I think, the best job I could ever imagine having. I love being a lawyer, I love government, I love politics. And it's got everything I want."

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