AMES – Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee criticized the news media Wednesday for being more interested in Britney Spears and Paris Hilton than in the nation’s next leader.

Asked how he could break out of a pack of Republican candidates considered in the second tier behind a trio of front-runners, Huckabee complained about a lack of media attention.

“One of the frustrations is that there is more attention on Britney Spears getting out of a car without underwear than there is about who is going to be the next president,” said Huckabee. “That is something that we as candidates don’t control.”

Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, met with reporters after touring a high-tech bioscience company in Ames. He acknowledged frustration that an inordinate amount of attention was given to leading GOP candidates Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney.

What could he do to get in the media spotlight?

“Accompanying Paris Hilton to jail might work,” said Huckabee.

Nothing else has been effective so far, he said.

“There are times I’m here and it may not be that we get the same level of attention as the three guys who seem to have been anointed by the national media to get a preponderance of the time no matter what they do and where they do it and what they say,” said Huckabee.

Huckabee said the first three GOP debates have given him some exposure, but there was frustration as he described those events as well.

“If you look at the debate coverage, I get six minutes out of a two-hour debate,” he said. “The so-called front-runners were getting 16 minutes. People say ‘how do you break out?’ Well, for one thing, let me go toe-to-toe with these guys.”

He said even debate summaries have dismissed the second-tier candidates.

“Even if you read wrap-ups of the event, what you read was Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney said these things and, oh by the way, seven other people participated in the debate,” said Huckabee.

Still, Huckabee expressed optimism that he would gain more of a following as the campaign unfolds.

“I still believe that the so-called front-runners are front-runners only because they have celebrity status or personal money enough that they can present themselves as front-runners,” said Huckabee. “When people start analyzing the message and the background, that’s when Republican voters become much more discriminating.”

Plenty of attention has been focused on actor and former Sen. Fred Thompson, who is considering seeking the Republican presidential nomination. Huckabee predicted that could change.

“Fred is enjoying the benefit of being already a celebrity with the television appearances,” said Huckabee. “He’ll be a formidable candidate, there’s no question about it.”

Huckabee was in Iowa to open his Iowa campaign headquarters.