The Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy PRESS/POLITICS News from the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University Fall 2008 Press/Politics IN THIS ISSUE Fall Fellows, p.2 First Kalb Professor of Global Communication, p.3 Anthony Lewis on Freedom of the Press, p.5 From left: Tom Brokaw, Bob Schieffer, George Stephanopoulos, and Judy Woodruff at the Democratic National Convention. ‘Old Media, New Media’ Shorenstein Center Hosts Convention Events Conference, p.5 presidential election year means national the media received considerable attention, as A political party conventions, and the did Tom Brokaw’s comments about MSNBC. Shorenstein Center hosted events at both the Democratic and Republican gatherings this year. The Republican Convention took place a week later in St. Paul. The event was titled “The The Democrats went first, holding their con- Press and the Election: American Demograph- vention in Denver. The Shorenstein Center’s ics” and featured Dan Balz of the Washington panel discussion was titled “The Press and the Post; Gwen Ifill of PBS; William Kristol from Election: A Conversation with Sunday Morning the Weekly Standard; Time magazine’s Karen TV Moderators.” It featured NBC’s Tom Brokaw, Tumulty; and moderator Alex Jones, director of CBS’s Bob Schieffer, and ABC’s George Stepha- the Shorenstein Center. Maralee Schwartz, Visiting nopoulos, and was moderated by Judy Wood- Murrow Lecturer in the Practice ruff of PBS. Attendees were welcomed by Alex For more on these and other Shorenstein of Press and Public Policy Jones, director of the Shorenstein Center. Center events, go to shorensteincenter.org. With more than 400 journalists and politicians in attendance, the Shorenstein Center event was closely covered by bloggers and reporters. John Lewis Gives T.H. White Lecture Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell’s criticism of ohn Lewis, who represents Georgia’s Fifth J Congressional District, is the 2008 T.H. White Lecturer. A civil rights pioneer, Lewis was elected to Atlanta’s city council in 1981 and to Congress in 1986. Lewis is currently senior chief deputy whip for the Democratic Party, and serves on the House Ways and Means Committee. The 2008 David Nyhan Prize for Political Journalism goes to Bob Herbert, op-ed columnist for the New York Times. Both men were honored at the T.H. White event on November 20. A transcript will be posted on the Center’s website in December. From left: William Kristol, Gwen Ifill, and Alex Jones at the Republican National Convention. PRESS/POLITICS The Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy Fall Brings New Fellows, Visiting Faculty to Shorenstein Center Fellows a private cultural and public affairs institute dedicated to U.S.–Spain relations. In 1993, Sandra Nyaira he joined the Wall Street Sandra Nyaira is a reporter Journal, where he became the for the Association of Zimba- founding editor and associate bwe Journalists. In addition publisher of the Wall Street to writing for the Association, Journal Americas. His research Nyaira’s work has appeared in at the Shorenstein Center fo- the London Times, the Guard- cuses on the evolution of cable ian, and the British Journalism news toward more opinionated Review. Prior to joining the As- journalism as seen in the case sociation, Nyaira was the politi- study of Lou Dobbs. cal editor of the now-banned Zimbabwean independent Visiting Lecturer newspaper, the Daily News. As political editor, she oversaw award-winning coverage of Maralee Schwartz Zimbabwe’s political crisis. She Maralee Schwartz is the has won numerous awards for From left: Fellows Eric Pooley and Edward Schumacher-Matos; Maralee Schwartz, Visiting Visiting Edward R. Murrow Edward R. Murrow Lecturer on the Practice of the Press and Public Policy; and Fellows her writing, including the 2002 Sandra Nyaira and Rory O’Connor. Lecturer on the Practice of International Women’s Media the Press and Public Policy. Foundation’s Courage in Jour- Globe, Boston Phoenix, Boston as a columnist, writer and se- She is teaching a course titled nalism Award. Her work at the magazine and former alterna- nior editor. Pooley is research- “How Politicians Connect with Shorenstein Center focuses on tive weekly, the Real Paper. ing and writing a book about Voters: The 2008 Presidential new media and its influence O’Connor then began working the politics and economics Campaign.” Schwartz spent on public policy and politics in in broadcast journalism as a of climate change. He is the more than two decades as Zimbabwe. reporter and producer at Kalb Fellow at the Shorenstein a reporter and editor at the WGBH-TV, while his political Center and is focused on Washington Post. She joined Rory O’Connor commentary was featured press coverage of the climate- the Post in 1979 as a research- regularly on WBCN radio. He change issue. er, then became a general- Rory O’Connor is an author, later was a senior producer at assignment political reporter, blogger, journalist and film- WCVB-TV. O’Connor is a Sa- Edward a job that took her to the trail maker. He is co-founder and gan Fellow at the Shorenstein Schumacher-Matos with presidential candidates. president of the media firm Center, and is researching and During the 1992 general elec- Globalvision and oversees the writing a paper on trust, jour- Edward Schumacher-Matos tion, Schwartz moved on to the nonprofit media-watchdog nalism and social networks. is the CEO and founder of assignment desk, editing po- site MediaChannel.org. He Rumbo Newspapers and litical stories, and on election has served as co-executive Eric Pooley Meximerica Media, a chain of night, was named congres- producer of the broadcast four Spanish-language dailies sional editor. Schwartz became newsmagazines South Africa Eric Pooley is editor at large in Texas. Schumacher-Matos national political editor in 1996, Now and Rights & Wrongs: for Time magazine. Pooley began his career as a reporter responsible for all national Human Rights Television. He has been managing editor of at the Patriot Ledger in Quincy, political coverage as well as is the author of the recently Fortune, editor of Time Europe, Mass. before moving on to coverage of the White House. published Shock Jocks: Hate and in 2001–2002 was national the Philadelphia Inquirer. For In 2006, after more than 27 Speech & Talk Radio and editor of Time. Before that, he nearly a decade afterward, years covering national stories, co-author of Nukespeak: The served as Time’s chief politi- Schumacher-Matos worked at Schwartz was named deputy Selling of Nuclear Technology cal correspondent. In 1996, as the New York Times, first as business editor in charge of in America. A regular online Time’s White House correspon- the New York City economic- corporate governance, white columnist for AlterNet and dent, Pooley won the Gerald development reporter and collar crime and the markets. MediaChannel, O’Connor also Ford Prize for Excellence in later as bureau chief in Buenos In the fall of 2007, Schwartz writes a blog called “Media Reporting for his coverage of Aires and in Madrid. He left was a fellow at the Institute of Is a Plural.” O’Connor started the Clinton administration. Pre- the Times in 1988. In 1991, he Politics and led a study group as a print journalist, writing viously, Pooley had a 12-year returned to New York as direc- on the presidential campaign. and editing for the Boston career at New York magazine tor of the Spanish Institute, 2 shorensteincenter.org The Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy PRESS/POLITICS Matthew Baum Named First Kalb Professor NewsMAKERS of Global Communication Kiku Adatto’s Picture Perfect: Life in rofessor Matthew allow people to con- the Age of the Photo Op was recently PBaum was recently nect with politicians as published by the Princeton University named the first Kalb individuals as opposed Press. It’s a remarkable update of her Professor of Global to on the level of their earlier book of the same title, which Communication at the ideology or policy po- included the study of the shrinking Kennedy School. sitions. It doesn’t mean sound-bite on television news, that you don’t see policy she conducted as a Shorenstein Baum, who received discussions, because Center Fellow in 1989. his Ph.D. in political you do, but less of it science at UC San and framed very differ- David Anable, a fall 2005 Shorenstein Diego in 2000, studies ently. Framed through Fellow, is the interim chief executive of mass media and personal anecdote.” The Principia, a K–12 school in St. Lou- politics. In 2005 he is, and a four-year college in Illinois. published the book While Baum finds Soft News Goes to some of the claims Robert Blendon, Professor of Health War: Public Opinion made on the effect Policy and Management at the and American Foreign of the Internet to be Shorenstein Center, has received the Policy in the New exaggerated, he does Warren J. Mitofsky Award for Excel- Media Age, and has feel that it reached a lence in Public Opinion Research. been looking at how “threshold point” with the changes in the Barack Obama’s ability Jill Carroll, a Shorenstein Fellow in media landscape have to finance his bid with fall 2006 who had been at the Chris- been affecting politics. many small donations rather than party in- tian Science Monitor, is now training siders and major donors. “That’s significant to become a firefighter and emer- “In a relatively polarized electorate, with because it represents an alternative model gency medical technician in Fairfax very few remaining persuadable voters, for competing, for getting to the party County, Virginia.