Inside a private portal from GOP campaigns to local news sites

The top Republican campaigns in Illinois used a private online portal to request stories and shape coverage in a network of media outlets that present themselves as local newspapers. Screenshots show that the password-protected portal, called Lumen, allowed users to pitch stories; provide interview subjects as well as questions; place announcements and submit op-eds to be “published verbatim” in any of about 30 sites that form part of the Illinois-focused media network, called Local Government Information Services. In some cases, users with Lumen access could choose whether to add a fact-checking step. Campaigns could find feedback about the stories they had submitted within the portal, including online views and the kinds of audiences reacting to the content. The online portal offers the potential for a new level of collaboration between political operators and certain media outlets — one in which candidates can easily seek to customize news stories without the public’s knowledge.