It's called a MittZine. A magazine about, you guessed it, Mitt Romney. And all 12 glossy pages of it will start appearing soon as an insert in newspapers in battleground states.
A 12-page magazine about Mitt Romney will appear as in insert in newspapers. There are heartwarming tales from Mr. Romney's past. In one article titled “How Romney's Leadership Rescued a Missing Girl,†he is praised as a “hero†for helping track down the daughter of one of his colleagues at Bain Capital.
Another article, headlined “Romney to the Rescue,†chronicles the effort to save a family whose boat was sinking on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. Also rescued, as the article notes: the family's Scottish terrier, McKenzie. There is even a picture of the little dog.
The magazine is the work of the Ending Spending Action Fund, a “super PAC†that spent a little more than $1 million printing and distributing the publication on high-stock paper. It is slightly larger than the average newsstand magazine.
The group, which is financed by Joe Ricketts, founder of TD Ameritrade, has primarily focused its efforts on running television commercials. But it opted for something less conventional now because its strategists believe that the airwaves are so cluttered that any television advertising would be wasted.
“You have high-quality content that lasts for much longer than 30 seconds,†said Brian Baker, the president and general counsel of the super PAC. “We think there's great effect on the voter who receives it.â€
If readers are so inclined, they may also fill out the Romney-Ryan themed crossword puzzle. A sampling of the clues: “Mitt Ro mney can _____ the country out of the economic mess†and “The burger company where Paul Ryan worked as a kid.â€
Mr. Baker said that major newspapers would include it as a paid insert, including The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The Cleveland Plain Dealer and The Des Moines Register.
Follow Jeremy W. Peters on Twitter at @ jwpetersNYT .
