Election Roundtable: Q&A

A few questions and answers from the session....

Is who makes the most money really the best way to choose how you'll spread coverage around?
-- Sweet: Obama is a hometown guy; some candidates got more coverage than they deserved because they were interesting, etc.

There's not enough decoding of what is actually meant (should be done by reporters). There are not enough voices of color giving analysis or commenting (to give context like this).
The majority of top reporters covering politics at news outlets are white men over 50, says Jodi.

What do you read, watch, listen to, or not?
Felice: Loves Maureen Dowd, the Politico
Lynn: Mike Allen's Playbook at Politico, The Page (an aggregated site that looks at what moves the day), CBS/ABC aggregates, NYT, Wash Post, Chicago Sun-Times, and the links on her blog. She doesn't pay attention to one on one interviews. She needs places giving lots of information synthesized.
Beth: Mike Allen's Playbook, CNN, NYT for general coverage and Slate's XX Factor
Ann: Michele Cotta from the Republic, Rebecca Traister at Salon

Can the Obama campaign sustain the interest and energy?
Yes, they can sustain the energy, but will the young people who have mobilized for him really vote?? That's the question, said Beth. Lynn Sweet: Term Obama uses is "intensity gap" -- they say they're ahead of McCain. Palin revs up Repubs the way Obama has done for the Dems.

Places like the Politico don't have the same resource base as the old media institutions -- are there going to be journos covering political campaigns in a new media world? What's our strategy to keep the journalism in the campaign?
Beth said they're doing partnerships with papers like St. Paul Pioneer Press and Denver Post. Also launching Politico network -- content and ad revenue sharing program that will launch on Tuesday. It all has to do with marketing and advertising. Can't see advertising is our enemy.