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.

Quality Campaign Reporting?

Best predictor was the money collected in the first quarter of the election primary. Two Dems were ahead of everyone else: Obama and Clinton. That shaped coverage, said Sweet.

Is that how life should be?

Money chase meant two candidates could expand -- have local offices, etc. -- can't fault press for paying attention to who's getting paid (or donations). Plus, the Media found coverage could be a marketing decision: put Obama or Clinton on a cover and you'll sell issues.

There was no superstar Republican candidate.


Frerking:
She felt the sexism when she started covering the Hillary campaign. There were people on the bus who she had respect for that said they don't believe sentimental moments at all. People didn't believe the now-infamous teary eyed moment in the coffee shop during Clinton's campaign.

All political coverage is more complex than we think.


Ann Friedman:
Having women in the race has made a difference in getting a female voice onto larger platforms. That's important and points to the stats that say when women run, more women vote.

Lynn Sweet

The travelling press often gets advance information for "planning purposes."

"There is nothing that happens at a fully blown national campaign that isn't done for their purpose."

A lot of what you see and hear on a daily basis from the campaign comes from pool reports. (Apparently, however, not Lynn. Yesterday, she was writing a story -- she's the primary Obama reporter -- as the rest of us were eating dinner.)

Candidate is not accessible every minute when you are traveling with them. Special service agents were all around Obama early on.