Julia's views on the media taking on the Election

The Chosen People

2008-12-06T20:16:00.000-08:00

During Barack Obama's campaign he surrounded himself with phenomenal people such as David Axelrod, Robert Gibbs, and many more. The one aspect that I noticed about Obama's strategists and campaign manager were how real they were.
Robert Gibbs would always do interviews on Morning Joe and other news stations. Yes, in most of his interviews he talked about the campaign and answered questions, but he also managed to fit in a few jokes. I think these qualities (being professional yet humorous) are quintessential for a campaign's well-being. I believe that the press fell in love with Obama not just because he is who is, but he also had likable people working the press.
Bobby Jindal needs to find the RIGHT people to help his campaign gain the media's respect and positive attention. Most assume that Fox News likes all republican candidates, but in this campaign we learned that is just not true. Fox News likes the Bush campaign/administration because they liked Karl Rove.

Clearing the Air

2008-12-06T20:08:00.000-08:00

This article was posted today by David Horowizt on the Historical News Network. It discusses how conservatives such Alan Keyes are still trying to push Obama out of office. It seems absurd that a small group of people have so much time on their hands to wine about this issue all day. Horowitz says that 64 million people voted for Obama, and the did not seem to care if he was born on American soil.

Yes, it is a rule that the U.S. president must be born in the United States, but it always seems that republicans try to ruin everything. It is also a rule that an election must follow the electoral college, and the republicans did not follow that in 2000. Just let it be, and most likely Obama will do something in office that republicans can pick on.

Graduation Speaker

2008-12-06T08:42:00.000-08:00

In order for Bobby Jindal to be embraced by the youth and pop culture, he needs to be the commencement speaker at upcoming college graduations. Over the years many presidential candidates volunteer their time to address the graduates.
Ted Kennedy was supposed to speak at Weslyan's 2008 graduation, but he was diagnosed with his brain tumor around the same time. Barack Obama stepped up to the plate and took Kennedy's spot. Obama doing this created even more exposure to the youth vote, and also showed that he was willing to take some time off his campaign to help a fellow politician.

Glamorizing Jindal

2008-12-05T21:49:00.000-08:00

In 2006, when Obama was planning his campaign Michelle and him had a completely different look from their current look. They were not as glamorous as they are now. Many people think that a president should not care about their wardrobe or designer labels, but who are we kidding? What makes celebrities and other individuals in the spotlight so intriguing is that they own things that the general public cannot afford. People react to these possessions differently some with envy and others with admiration. Take Palin for example, even though there was controversy over her shopping spree at Nieman Marcus, this created attention and the public grew a curiosity.

Bobby Jindal and his wife will need to have signature looks, so that public realizes that he is an established politician. This sounds very superficial, but in the beginning of the race the image is a crucial factor. Also think of the Kennedys, people still discuss Jackie's famous sunglasses or other items in her wardrobe. Bobby needs to look presidential and revamp his style but not let it define him. The reason why it defined Palin was because she did not have that much more going for her.

Jindal TV

2008-12-03T17:49:00.000-08:00

In order to gain recognition, Bobby Jindal needs more national exposure. In 2006 Obama had a TV channel website called barack-obama.tv. The editors of this website posted up to the minute videos of Barack and other election related items. The website is carefully outlined, categorizing videos to specific themes, and also by date. Not many people knew about this website, or maybe they did and I just was out of the loop.
In 2010 when Jindal announces his plan to run in 2012, he needs to publicize the Jindal TV channel. This could be a major contributor to spreading his message besides his campaign website. He could categorize the videos toward different viewers. If he is trying to attract the youth vote he should show a video of him on The Daily Show. This is a technique Jindal could use to create his own press and media coverage.

Jindal's Dreams from My Father

2008-12-02T18:29:00.000-08:00

When Obama spoke at the DNC in 2004 the public was provided with a visual of Obama's life, which included his family. After he spoke America's curiosity over Obama flourished, and Random House re-published Dreams from My Father.
This book inspired many, and became a bestseller. It portrayed Obama's life as the American dream. Besides Obama's speech at the DNC, I think this book really answered a lot of questions the public had about him, and prevented Obama from fading out of the public's eye.
Bobby Jindal needs to do something similar. He does not need to have a full fledged campaign before 2010, but he needs to have a subtle message so that the public can learn about him, and eventually like him.

Advice for the Atlantic

2008-12-02T18:12:00.000-08:00

Yesterday in class we discussed various ways The Atlantic could revamp their multi-media component to their website to gain more viewers. Colin stated that when he reads an article he wants closure/follow-up not more information. I responded by saying that the journalist should post a weekly vlog on The Atlantic's website. We then looked at the hideous vloggers that were good citizen journalist, but bad on camera. I think my idea was misinterpreted. I was thinking more of a webinar structure. This is when the journalist is vlogging live (in appealing lighting and clothing) while viewers are able to type in questions to the journalist and he/she can respond live. It would be similar to a letter to the editor section but with a faster response. Also it would be weekly component to the website with hype throughout the week to gain more viewers. Here is the description from Wikipedia of what I am trying to explain. Sorry for the confusion.

Debates in future elections

2008-11-29T19:18:00.000-08:00

In the 2008 election the debates had more viewers and coverage than ever before, particularly the vice presidential debate. Many will agree that the debate formats need to be revamped before the 2012 presidential elections, especially the town hall format. Most viewers blamed Tom Brokaw for being a weak moderator, however I believe that it was the time constraints placed on the candidates and Brokaw. This article from FreePress.com has an analysis of the debate including criticisms.

Crackberry for the President?

2008-11-18T20:07:00.001-08:00

Lingering on the same topic we discussed in class yesterday, what the media will discuss after elections, I came across an article in the NY Times discussing Obama's forms of communication. I found this article to be quite interesting because I had never thought of how a president communicates in this day in age. It would make sense for a modern day president to receive abundant amounts of email, however the privacy matter does play a role in all of this. The article discusses how Obama is the first president to have a laptop on his desk in the oval office. This is a huge deal, and is an introduction to a "new" kind of president. If Obama does not follow through with any of his other "change" promises, he certainly is opening doors in terms of technology in the White House. Do you think Obama should keep his beloved blackberry?

More Speculations: Women in the limelight again

2008-11-15T19:57:00.000-08:00

In this op-ed piece Gail Collins discusses the possibility that Clinton (Hillary) will be Obama's secretary of state. Since the election is over with, and the press can no longer pick on Palin the press will spend most of their time speculating on who will in Obama's cabinet. The press seems to always need a woman to target, and now they are back on Hillary.

White House Bedrooms

2008-11-15T19:49:00.000-08:00

Another topic that I have seen a lot is how the Obama's will redecorate the White House. Since Obama's campaign's theme was change there is no doubt that he will also be freshening up his new pad. Since the public is fascinated by politician's children Access Hollywood did a story on Sasha and Malia's White House bedrooms. I am sorry for the poor quality. But I think the press will be discussing the Obama girls just as much as they will be talking about Obama's possible cabinet picks.

Joe Scarborough Drops the F bomb

2008-11-15T19:40:00.000-08:00

It is apparent that some conservative pundents are loosed lipped after the elections. Scarborough did not catch the fact he dropped the F bomb until his co-host nudged him, and said "the 7 second delay." It was not until then that he apologized and told the viewers he was going to wash his mouth out with soap.

2008-11-05T19:32:00.000-08:00

ONION takes it too far

2008-11-04T22:26:00.000-08:00

In this article the Onion says how a Black man gets the worst job in the U.S. At the end of the article they make a statement that takes it too far: "a Black man still can't catch a break." I know the paper is pretty left and is a satirical newspaper, but I still think that any articles written about Obama and African Americans being president should be discussing the history behind it.

This is Disgusting

2008-11-02T11:39:00.001-08:00

This is a video that I am ashamed to even post, but it really says a lot about this election, and the negative things that have been said about Obama. The media hasn't protected him against everything. I would like to know if this is supposed to be mocking all the people that think these things about Obama, or if the person who made it actually believes them too.

What if Palin was Liberal?

2008-11-02T11:27:00.000-08:00

Politicalchill.com has made a satirical video of how the media would treat Sarah Palin if she was on the democratic ticket. They have taken the interviews and pundent remarks and flipped them around in favoring ways.

Media Wars

2008-11-02T11:17:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the poor quality of this video. This video really speaks out to the media bias. It really reminds me of a family feud: he said she said. Fox News is the little child claiming if the tables were turned they would be forced to release the video, while a liberal newspaper takes the higher road in protecting Obama. Rather than the presidential nominees making attacks on one another, the right and left media are attacking each other. Why is the media taking the focus off the essential issues??

Media Groupies

2008-11-02T11:11:00.000-08:00

This is pretty self-explanatory. However, this cartoon came out during the primaries, not much has changed in terms of the media's love affair for Obama.

A Newspaper Remains Silent

2008-11-02T11:02:00.000-08:00

Just days before the elections, a Colorado newspaper decides not to cover the presidential race until after the election. They believe that voters should decide who they want to vote for without media interference. For some reason I find this really entertaining, first it is a newspaper admitting to media bias, second, if the newspaper does not want to sway voters then why don't they cover the news without a bias? They could just state what actually happened instead of adding in their opinions.

An Absent Bush

2008-11-02T10:33:00.000-08:00

Election after election, presidents have campaigned for their party's nominee. Even President Clinton campaigned for Al Gore in 2000, while he was dealing with the scandals of his presidency. I am wondering if Clinton's campaigning for Gore affected the 2000 elections that much. I think that if the president wants to campaign for the nominee he should be allowed to. McCain said he wanted to take the politics out of this election, but every single one of his decisions have been political.

Palin Punk'd

2008-11-02T10:01:00.000-08:00

This is so sad. Palin punk'd by two Canadian radio show hosts pretending to be Nicholas Sarkozy.

SNL Campaign Ads

2008-10-26T09:21:00.000-07:00

Will and Tina reunite

2008-10-24T06:03:00.000-07:00

Almost falling off the stage....

2008-10-16T07:28:00.000-07:00

Joe the plumber=Joe Six pack

2008-10-16T05:04:00.000-07:00

Last night in the debate McCain used a tactic that did not workout so well: Joe the plumber. If the plumbers name had been Robert would this strategy still be used? Not for the McCain camp. The McCain campaign seems to have an infatuation with the Joes of America. I think they just wanted to put a face to Joe Six Pack who Palin continues to use as describing the average American. What about the Johns, toms and heaven forbid even the women in America?

who knew New Hamshire was in the great north west?

2008-10-16T05:01:00.000-07:00

Palin makes another blunder while at a rally in Dover, New Hamshire. Take a look at this

The Women In McCain's life

2008-10-13T20:33:00.000-07:00

After tonight's discussion on a woman's role in the elections I did some research on the mysterious roles the women play in McCain's campaign. Here is an article I discovered in Elle magazine.

Debate 2 round 1

2008-10-07T19:13:00.001-07:00

While watching the debate I was looking through articles about the debate. I found this one, which speaks about the debate in past tense, it was written at 10:04. The tone of this article shows how the media has proconceived notions of the way the debate is going to go. The media knows how they are going to report the debate before it even happens, why have debates at all? The media is the one forming the candidates, and how voter view them, not the debates.

Keating Economics and Fighting Back

2008-10-06T15:07:00.000-07:00

Now McCain admits that he was wrong when supporting Keating eleven years ago. The Keating situation is a miniature replica as to what is going on with the current economy. This is an ad that the Obama campaign released shortly after Palin used the fear tactic when discussing Obama's relationship with Ayerss. The media allows and mediates quick reaction time for both campaigns. When one candidate says something the media already knows what the other candidate will say in response.

The Inner workings of Palin...Who has the time to figure this out?

2008-10-04T10:04:00.000-07:00

Sarah Palin healed by witch doctor

2008-10-04T07:38:00.000-07:00

Bill Maher talks about Governor Palin's religious beliefs. Maher says if there was a video of Senator being cured by a witch doctor the election would be over, and then goes on to announce that Palin does in-fact have a video of her being cured by a witch doctor. Who says the media is too tough on Palin, because if they really were they would be showing this video left and right.

Even Homer Simpson cannot work a booth

2008-10-04T07:28:00.000-07:00

In this hysterical Simpson cartoon, Homer first cannot his oversized belly into the booth, and later realizes that the machine is rigged. He continues to vote for Obama but anyway he touches the screen it says "one vote for McCain." When he figures out the booth is rigged, the machine kills him in order to shut him up.

Dictator McCain

2008-10-04T07:19:00.000-07:00

Does Senator McCain really aspire to be a dictator? Another similarity between him and Bush.

why did she call him joe?

2008-10-04T07:11:00.000-07:00

I am still confused as to why Governor Palin asked Senator Biden if she could call him Joe. The media has not picked up on it as much as I would have expected. I thought it was extremely disrespectful, and not once did Senator Biden call her Sarah.

similar responses

2008-10-04T07:05:00.000-07:00

Men Reporting on Men

2008-10-03T16:21:00.001-07:00

When watching Hardball tonight and the commentary on last night's Veep debate I found that Chris Matthews and the other male pundents had no clue how to comment on a man (Joe Biden). They discussed how energetic Palin had been, but as a woman I feel that Biden showed just as much energy and charisma as Governor Palin, and men have a more difficult time as picking that up or articulating it. It made wonder if when men talk about Palin's energy are they referring to her sex appeal.

MSNBC objective is to reassure democrat voters

2008-09-30T20:41:00.000-07:00

When watching the Rachel Maddow show one thing came to mind: is her goal to reassure democrat voters that the republican ticket is going to fail. There are many aspects of her show content that make me thing that. The one thing that stands out to me the most is that Maddow keeps showing conservative journalist bashing Palin. It is quite clear to the general public that people think that Palin is not ready to be Veep, but I don't think we need to keep being reminded.
Fox News does not keep saying how Sarah Palin was bad decision, they assume that we are aware, and display her mistakes. If NBC was a child its dialog would be on the lines of "haha even those conservatives think she was a bad choice, we were right you wrong."

Side by Side Comparison

2008-09-28T20:59:00.000-07:00

The Gotcha Game?

2008-09-26T02:32:00.000-07:00

Is Bill O'Reilly right, is the media playing a gotcha game with Sarah Palin? O'Reilly claims that Couric and Gibson asked Palin unfair questions, that NO politician would or should know the answers to. O'Reilly wants to end this game by having Palin on The Factor. O'Reilly promises that he will ask her "fair" questions like "How will you run the country?" Of course these are fair questions, because that's what she is expecting and prepared for. However, isn't playing stump the candidate part of the fun and training.
The issues and problems that occur while in office are unexpected, you must act on your toes and be prepared for anything and everything. Interviews and campaigning are just part of the preparation for presidency. A president cannot answer "let me get back to you on that one" when at a summit meeting, he/she must have an answer or a way of responding to every question asked.
Furthermore, if the McPalin campaign thought that O'Reilly was the only fair interviewer, he would have had Palin on his show weeks ago!

Luke Russert on Young Voters

2008-09-26T02:11:00.000-07:00

This week the Today Show showed a segment about young voters created by Luke Russert. Russert went to UVA and interviewed students and professors to figure out the political climate on college campuses. The collection of interviews showed to national viewers that the youth vote is up, and added that the election is in the youths' hands (35 and under). Luke made an interesting remark during his recap with Matt Lauer. Matt asked if the students at UVA are a fair analysis of the rest of the state or country. Luke responded with: "you have to remember the smartest kids in the state go there so they are leaning a little bit more towards Obama." Is this the elitist media talking? Will McCain supporters look down on the media for belittling their intellect because they are not supporting Obama?

Rachel Maddow does let McCain write her Headlines

2008-09-25T20:46:00.000-07:00

Tonight's feature topic on the Rachel Maddow Show was the "suspension" of McCain's campaign, and not the economic crisis. Rachel interviewed Keith Olbermann and both claimed the McCain has been writing his own news headlines. If you haven't noticed the headlines involving McCain have a rapid turn over rate, much quicker than Obama. Can you believe that he claimied "he invented the Blackberry" last week? If you can't, it's because McCain has made so many other statements and "decisions" since then so that the media would steer away from his many "intelligent" comments.

Letterman

2008-09-24T21:19:00.000-07:00

Letterman Says...someone is putting something in his metamucil

2008-09-24T21:04:00.000-07:00

McCain was supposed to appear on the Late Show tonight...however McCain has suspended his campaign.
Letterman started off his show by saying what an honorable man McCain is because he gave up everything except his life for America, but....something does not smell right. Letterman made a good point...you cannot suspend your presidency when there is a crisis...you hand over the reins to the VP. Why doesn't McCain trust Palin....I wonder?

McPanic Duh

2008-09-24T13:51:00.000-07:00

Obviously we are all writing about the reasons why McCain is suspending his campaign and asking for the Friday debate to be postponed. Is it because he is afraid of David Letterman? This decision process feels awfully familiar to the one he used when picking his VP, and the media is reacting to it in the same fashion. Yesterday McCain showed no signs of suspending his campaign when he was dealing with energy issues, and today he drastically changed his mode.
Obviously the cable networks are interviewing democrats and republican congressional leaders, and there are mixed opinions. While the National networks just show the main points and let the viewers make up their own opinions.
McCain claims that his decision is to redirect America's focus onto the economic crisis rather than the election, however America is now focusing more on why McCain made such a panicky decision...
McCain has done it once again he is forcing the media to pull away from the "real" issues and discuss his campaign decision making skills instead just like they did with his Palin pick.

Lies Lies and More Lies

2008-09-23T16:21:00.000-07:00

It came out today in a New York Times "Alert" that Freddie Mac paid $15,000 a month to a firm owned John McCain's campaign manager Rick Davis. This completely contradicts a statement McCain made on Sunday night. This information could say many things about McCain: that he is too old and forgetful, that he does not even know what is going on in his own campaign, or that he is just a VERY bad lier.

Spain in Latin America?

2008-09-18T18:06:00.000-07:00

Today John McCain had an interview with a radio talk show host based out of Miami. The host asked McCain if he would be willing to meet with Zapatero, the prime minister of Spain. It became apparent during the interview that McCain did not know who Zapatero is and thought he was "a few" leaders. McCain also made a statement later on claiming that Spain was in Latin America.

Fired HP CEO Crticizes her Candidate

2008-09-17T15:45:00.000-07:00

On September 16 Andrea Mitchell interviewed former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina. Those of you who are not familiar with Fiorina she is a surrogate for McCain she also was a major speaker at the RNC. Earlier that day Fiorina stated over a radio talk show that Sarah Palin was incapable of running a major corporation (like HP). MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell followed up with this statement by asking Carly to explain herself and Carly replied: "Well, I don't think John McCain could run a major corporation." Is Fiorina really that narcissistic to think that running a major coorporation is more difficult than being the commander in chief of one of the world's most powerful countries. I would like to see her do it. Many commentators also claimed that Fiorina would reiterate her comments to Mitchell by the end of day, but she didn't.
Today Mitt Romney was interviewed on several major networks including MSNBC's Morning Joe. Coincidence, I think not. Mitt is the perfect person to clear the air of Fiorina's prior comments, with him having run several SUCCESSFUL corporations and also having governed Massachusetts. Romney said the obvious that both McCain and Palin were knowledgeable and experienced enough to run companies.
I still wonder why Fiorina would make those statements I mean HP did fire her....I guess we won't be seeing her for a while!

Maybe McCain's economic state is strong!

2008-09-16T16:05:00.001-07:00

Yesterday (September 15), one of the worst days for the economy in decades, McCain made a statement basically claiming that the economy is stable and even strong. Could this be why individuals say McCain is out of touch with American society? Without a question the media is narrowing in on the subject of the economy, and each of the candidates' reactions to the crisis on Wall St. This is the first time since Palin was put on the ballot that the candidates' policies are actually being discussed and the race is between Obama and McCain rather than Obama and Palin. Could the economic crisis answer Obama's prayers and get him back on top?