Man Behind The Presidential Debate
By Jim Kershner
Staff Writer

An Inland Northwest man will have one of the most important jobs of all at the presidential debate tonight: He'll help decide what millions of viewers see on their TV screens.

Carl F. Benscheidt, 52, chief executive officer of a Spokane communications firm, is associate director of the debate telecast, which means he'll be in the control room monitoring 11 cameras and sending out the video feed for all the networks and foreign broadcasts. He already is in San Diego aiming the cameras and tweaking the lights for tonight's telecast.

One of his most important roles will be to keep the visuals impartial. For instance, if one candidate is given a "reaction shot" - smiling indulgently at some whopper his opponent has just told - Benscheidt's job is to note what kind of shot it was and how long is lasted. Then he has to make sure the other candidate gets a similar reaction shot.

"Fairness is the big thing," said Benscheidt, "It's impossible to figure out in advance. It has to be worked out at the time."

Benscheidt said this debate will be more complicated than the first (which he didn't work) because of its town-hall format. In addition to nine cameras covering the angles on the floor, two cameras will loom overhead on cranes.

The Secret Service no doubt will be making sure those cameras don't fall off and knock out a candidate. In fact, Benscheidt said, the Secret Service conducts numerous "sweeps" of the hall to check for any dangers.

Yet, Benscheidt said, the security overall is not as tight as it was at the Republican National Convention in San Diego, which he also worked. He said he had to make his way through three different metal detectors every day just to reach the control room.

Benscheidt landed both the debate and convention jobs through this connections as a former CBS producer-director. He was the West Coast producer-director of "The CBS Evening News With Dan Rather" until 1988, when he quit, moved to Spokane and launched the Benscheidt Communications Group. He describes his company's job as "crisis media management."

He helps clients handle the media during highly visible public controversies. His clients have included Merck & Co., Nordstrom and Boeing Co. His company has six employees at its Spokane headquarters and six other consultants and employees in offices in Seattle and Scottsdale. Ariz.
Benscheidt still likes to contract out as a director for conventions, debates and other special news events. It's his way of keeping his hand in the game.

"It's very important to our clients to know that they are getting people who are real media people," said Benscheidt.

BEHIND THE SCENES: Benscheidt helps conventions convey message to America
By JOE BUTLER
Staff writer

Whatever sort of "infomercial" the Republicans put on in San Diego, the Democrats will try to do theirs better this week. Carl Benscheidt, CEO of THE BENSCHEIDT COMMUNICATIONS GROUP, expects an even bigger show in Chicago when the Democrats try to spread a message of unity and support.

Benscheidt had the task of helping the GOP get its point across to America, and for each hour of the week long convention, he was one of two people who directed the pool coverage for all the world's media, and passed information to networks and wire services.

There were almost 15,000 members from the media at the convention, compared to 1,909 delegates. When reporters ran out of substantive convention news, Benscheidt witnessed them interviewing each other.
The San Diego convention showed him a hint of what this week's Democratic convention will be like, and possible future political conventions.....

The Republican's practiced a communication theory Benscheidt teaches called "message discipline," which means everyone involved reinforces the same information over and over.....

"The Republicans learned how simple it is to learn: keep it short, simple, and repeat it over and over," Benscheidt said.....

The media has also changed in reponse to public demand for more negative, controversial and sensational news.....

The good news is that his business has profited from this, as more and more companies want to know how to deal with a media which now comes looking for trouble. Even larger companies with established records are growing more reluctant to deal with media at all.

"Today it's a new game, and companies have to be able to show the media a key message, a positive and credible message, or they're in trouble."

Benscheidt helps clients when bad news hits
By RICHARD RIPLEY

When Seattle-based Nordstrom Inc. found itself facing a public relations nightmare a few months back, it turned to a small Spokane firm for help.....but if any consulting firm could get a company ready to handle adverse news, THE BENSCHEIDT COMMUNICATIONS GROUP has the credentials.

"We're all media professionals," says Benscheidt, who was West Coast producer-director for the CBS Evening News before moving his company here a year and a half ago.....

When a crisis occurs, the company advises clients on what to release and what not to release, he says.....

The company also will advise clients on the content of a press release. "Too many times, a client will talk about what they're not doing instead of what they are doing," Benscheidt says.....

"We have to limit the number of clients that we have on retainer. The reason that we've been able to pull clients that Burson Marsteller and Hill & Knowlton haven't is because of our credentials." Burson Marsteller and Hill & Knowlton are big, national public relations firms......

Tormey, the Nordstrom media relations manager, says Nordstrom contacted Benscheidt after Benscheidt was recommended to Nordstrom.