Critiquing the Press

Howard Kurtz has been The Washington Post's media reporter since 1990. He is also the host of CNN's "Reliable Sources" and the author of "Media Circus," "Hot Air," "Spin Cycle" and "The Fortune Tellers: Inside Wall Street's Game of Money, Media and Manipulation." Kurtz talks about the press and the stories of the day in "Media Backtalk."

The Obama Swoon , ( Post, Oct. 30, 2006 )

The transcript follows.

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Eugene, Ore.: Howard,

I am perplexed as to why the editors don't make any note of a columnist's absence when the column does not appear.

As a regular reader of your work, I went looking on Friday for my daily fix - but lo and behold - nada!

Is it beyond capability to include a note saying Howard Kurtz is off today, or something similar?

Thanks.

Howard Kurtz: I don't know exactly where you would put it on a Web site, but thanks for noticing. I was traveling Thursday and got home really late. But I made my grand return this morning.

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Houston, Texas: I am an independent voter. I always hear about the liberal bias to the media but I have observed that you have a conservative commentator on every street corner on television. Conservative commentators overwhelmingly comprise the majority of talk/analysis shows on TV. Even CNN is much more biased to conservatives than before and seems to go out of its way not to antagonize conservatives or the White House. Most media outlets seem to go out of their way to present a positive view of conservative actions and policies. Why?

Howard Kurtz: Not sure who all these conservative commentators are on CNN; seems to me the network has about an equal number from each side, and when you see them on The Situation Room or wherever, it's usually James Carville and Bay Buchanan, or Paul Begala and Bill Bennett, etc. Even "Crossfire," simplistic as it was, always had one person from the left and one from the right. I guess one exception would be Glenn Beck on Headline News; there's no comparable liberal show on that network. Producers (in part because of Fox) have concluded that conservatives do well on cable. So you have Joe Scarborough (a former Republican congressman) and Tucker Carlson on MSNBC, although MS also has what's probably the most liberal show around right now in Keith Olbermann's Countdown.

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Rolla, Mo.: Newsweek has an article speculating about a bin Laden "October surprise." My question, when the Republicans note that bin Laden wants the Democrats to win, does anyone challenge this pointing out that popping his head up right before an election helps Republicans, so who do you really think he wants to win on Nov. 7? Isn't President Bush al-Qaeda main foil, recruiting tool?

Howard Kurtz: Who knows what bin Laden wants? Has anyone interviewed him lately? You think he's poring over the polls? This all strikes me as silly speculation.

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Baltimore, Md.: Howard,

What exactly has Barack Obama done to deserve all the press coverage and speculation about whether he will run for president in 2008?

Please don't say it's due to the fact that he's a sitting U.S. Senator. They were saying this BEFORE he was even sworn in.

Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I think that in order to get a lot of press attention you first need do something. In today's world, the order of events has been reversed: you first get the press attention, and then you use it to do something. I can understand why a politician would take advantage of this new world, but what excuse does the press have?

Howard Kurtz: Well, as my column this morning makes clear, Obama hasn't been in Washington long enough to have much of a record. So all this media swooning is based on his life story, his persona, his conciliatory style, his charisma, and, yes, his race. He may go on to be an impressive senator and/or presidential candidate, but I find it remarkable that, especially in a time of war, many of these glowing pieces about him relegate his lack of experience to a couple of "to be sure" paragraphs.

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Arlington, Va.: Howard:

I was wondering if there's been any research that tells us what type of negative political ads are effective? Are personal attack ads as effective as policy ads? Some ads this campaign season seem to have hit a new low. Any chance those will backfire or are the candidates that run these ads so desperate that the backfiring won't matter much?

Howard Kurtz: Any negative advertising that sticks in the viewer's mind tends to be effective, whether it's charging that Candidate X is a tool of industry, doesn't pay his taxes or just a strange dude. Ironically, people are more willing to believe a negative ad about an opponent than a candidate's positive ad about himself. Everyone decries the ugliness of modern campaigns, which I believe turns off many voters (with the active complicity of the media). But candidates keep running these spots because they work.

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Cannon Falls, Minn.: Howard, thanks for taking questions. It's one of my favorite things about the Washington Post.

I read your Media Notes a couple of days ago on mudslinging by the campaigns. You started by listing five examples of egregious behavior, but as I read them I thought, "One of these things is NOT like the other." After listing the racist ad in TN, the comments about Hillary Clinton being so ugly she must have had surgery, a candidate threatening to slap a wheel-chair bound opponent, and Rush Limbaugh's comments on Michael J. Fox, you listed:some Kerry staffer who called bloggers "cowards."

My question is, does this last episode really match the others? My feeling is that this is a textbook case of false equivalence.

I don't mean to imply that Democrats are not capable of mean-spirited mud slinging, but in this election the mud is really coming from one party, so why the need to act like it's bi-partisan? Or do you really think that last example was on par with the others?

Thanks!

Howard Kurtz: No equivalence was intended. They were just a bunch of recent examples. Obviously some were far more important than others.

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Washington, D.C.: I'm not one to ordinarily complain about media bias, and I like the Post a lot, but really - does "This Time, Ballot Issues Could Rally Liberal Base" really seem like an appropriate A1 headline? Why not just go all the way: "Come on, Liberals! Go team!"

I guess my real problem is the use of "could." Anything -could- happen; doesn't make it an A1 story.

Howard Kurtz: All campaign stories involve "could" to some degree, because we don't know how people are going to vote. But the facts of that particular story -- that minimum wage and stem-cell ballot initiatives could boost liberal turnout in the affected states -- seemed perfectly straightforward to me. In past cycles The Post has written about how anti-gay marriage and other initiatives might help draw conservatives to the polls. Keep in mind that turnout is crucial in midterm elections, when fewer people vote than in presidential years.

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Tokyo, Japan: OK, so this week's big question seems obvious: Just what do Webb's novels' sex scenes have to do with anything, and why did they suddenly become a story after Allen's camp put out a press release? The media had access to the novels before, but evidently didn't deem them newsworthy. Why not make a journalistic judgment like, "we think such details taken out of context of a novel have nothing to do with what kind of public servant he'll be," and wait to see if the accusations gain any traction and become a news story legitimately, rather than taking this sort of thing on a silver platter?

Howard Kurtz: I wonder if the Webb novels will change any voters' minds; if he had written a murder mystery, would that make him pro-killing? But the answer to why the press thinks this is worthy of attention was, sadly, embedded in the Post story the other day. It said George Allen's campaign had been pushing this story line for weeks, to no avail, before giving it to Matt Drudge, who trumpeted it with a big headline. Suddenly it was on the network news and the front page of The Post. If it wasn't a story before, how did it become a story because of one Web site?

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Seattle, Wash.: The NY Times posted an op-ed about hoping that our voting counts. It seems to me that voter integrity is the great under-reported story this election cycle, even more so than in 2004.

Do you have total confidence that voter intention will be reflected on Nov. 7? I sure don't, and those in charge of our polling procedures have given me no reason to be.

Howard Kurtz: Do I have great confidence? No. Especially after what happened in Maryland on primary day.

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Easton, Md.: Whatever The Post is paying Anthony Shadid, it isn't enough! It seems to me that he is the only U.S. reporter who has consistently provided accounts from the point-of-view of Iraqi citizens. I appreciate his work and hope that The Post continues to support his efforts.

Howard Kurtz: Thanks for noticing. He is a brave and dogged guy.

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Vienna, Va.: Many of the newspapers (and at least one commenter in this discussion) state as fact the the Harold Ford ad was racist. In your opinion, does having a white woman say "call me" to a black man automatically make an ad racist?

Howard Kurtz: Anyone who thinks that ad didn't have racist overtones -- based, by the way, on Ford attending a Playboy-sponsored party at the Super Bowl with, I believe, thousands of others -- isn't living in the real world. Look at it this way: The RNC-financed ad was so offensive that Ford's Republican opponent, Bob Corker, denounced it.

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Rochester, N.Y.: Although I agree that Obama is truly a cipher when it comes to abilities, I don't see where that was an issue when the country (almost)went for GWBush vs. Al Gore. In fact the "media" let no gaffe be unexcused when describing the genial GWB while anything that Al Gore did to "popularize" his image was generally a cause for media smirking.. Same for Kerry. So, two people who had some ideas and long records of public service were generally brought down below the level of a failed business man, reformed alcoholic, draft dodging, legacied governor of Texas.

Howard Kurtz: It's fine to blame that all on the media, if that's your preference, but candidates ultimately have to run these races. Was Al Gore far more experienced in government than George W. Bush in 2000? Absolutely. But that's not the only factor voters take into account in deciding who to support. But even Bush, who had no foreign policy experience, had been the governor of a major state for six years, compared to Obama, who is currently finishing his second year in the Senate after having been a state senator in Illinois.

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Washington, D.C.: Re: Webb - isn't it part of the reporter's job to read the entirety of the books rather than rely on the excerpts released by the opposition campaign?

Howard Kurtz: I don't know that the reporters didn't read (or at least speed-read) Webb's books. And if you're going to do a story on the most salacious passages, the ones that were highlighted were probably the ones you'd pick. But why is it a story at all? Apparently John McCain wasn't offended; he blurbed one of the books.

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Re- Webb -Allen: What might be a good question is to ask Senator Allen if it's fair to criticize someone who wrote a novel based in part on his experiences in Vietnam, when the Senator, who could have served, didn't.

Howard Kurtz: I think some of Webb's allies have made that point.

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Eastern Shore, Md.: Howard:

What I believe people find attractive about Barack Obama is that he comes across as authentic, modest, interested in hearing and considering others' points of view, and HUMAN (as well, of course, as intelligent, articulate and telegenic). I have read both of his books and was impressed by his willingness to admit doubts, mistakes and uncertainties. On Sunday a week ago, the Baltimore Sun had a lengthy profile of Michael Steele that began on the front page and jumped to a full (or nearly full) page of the A section. On the same day, there was an article about Obama in the Ideas section. Reading both, I found Steele to be absolutely opaque and Obama pretty transparent. Given the political atmosphere over the past (at least) six years, Barack is pretty refreshing. It is true that he has not accomplished a great deal in the Senate yet, but how many freshmen Democratic senators (except Hilary Clinton) would have been able to do much?

Howard Kurtz: Look, a lot of people, including a whole bunch of political reporters, find Obama refreshing, and I have no quarrel with that. And no one is saying that a senator in the minority party would be expected to accomplish more than Obama has. So it's not hard to understand people writing favorably about him. But does that mean he's qualified to be president of the United States? The media campaign to draft him is really quite something, and anything but subtle. I haven't seen anything like it since the coverage of Colin Powell during HIS book tour in 1995.

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Baltimore, Md.: Re Obama's possible candidacy: I have heard experienced politicos say that, the fact is, a politician only generates so much heat once in his or her career. If all the stars align, an ambitious pol is a fool to pass on the opportunity.

And not to make comparisons, I assure you, but I seem to remember that a one-term Congressman who ran unsuccessfully for other offices turned out to be a reasonably effective president. That would be Abraham Lincoln.

Howard Kurtz: And if Abe were around today, he'd have to put up with a slew of negative ads and cable hosts questioning whether he was too homely to be president.

Look, I'm not saying Obama shouldn't run. If he's convinced that this is his moment, go for it. It's certainly not going to be any easier in 2012, challenging an incumbent of either party. What I am saying is that most journalists seem to have checked their normal skepticism at the door (though that would change the moment he declared).

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Arlington, Va.: The Journal on Saturday had an interesting piece on poll methodology and predicting who takes the house and senate. They talked about cell phones (wireline replacement) and people not answering their phones as causes of error. They omitted the glaring one: the polls are national and the election is not. Charlie Gibson acknowledged this serious problem on your show.

Most of the major players in the media KNOW these numbers don't reflect the outcome, but they keep using them. Why?

Howard Kurtz: Because they're addicted to polls and they got nothing else. Surveys can obviously provide useful snapshots -- if a big majority is dissatisfied with the country's direction, for example -- but it is much harder to predict the outcome of 435 House races and 33 Senate contests based on national polls. Obviously journalists are also poring over the local and state polls, and just as obviously the Republicans have more vulnerable seats to defend and less margin for error. But polls are overused, no question about it.

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Arlington, Va.: Can you tell me exactly what "the special interests" means? Is that just somebody the other guy took money from that I don't like? Isn't everybody's interest a special interest to them? Is there any more meaningless term in politics?

Howard Kurtz: In journalistic shorthand, it might refer to big oil companies, pharmaceutical companies, the NRA, or other lobbying groups with narrow interests and political muscle. But it could just as easily apply to environmental groups, pro-choice groups, universities, advocates for the elderly, and so on. So just about any "group" that engages in lobbying can qualify for the definition.

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Eastern Shore, Md., again: Well, I personally would like to see him as the VP candidate in '08, preferably as the running mate of someone who would help ensure that he got the foreign policy exposure and experience that he has not yet had the chance to gain (although it is a big plus in my book that he has lived in other countries and cultures).

Howard Kurtz: I assume you're talking about Obama. Maybe he's really running for VP. It worked for John Edwards, who had a similarly short resume when Kerry picked him.

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Woodbridge, Va.: Howard, I think you are on the mark that there is far too much hype over Obama. However, I have to report that there is something else going on too. It wasn't long ago that Sen. Obama came to Alexandria, VA to campaign and I was stunned to see the crowd reaction to him. Afterwards I saw women racing to get his picture/autograph.

I've lived in Washington for a long time and I've never seen folks act that way in front of a politician. Sure they want an autograph, but they don't run along panting as if The Beatles showed up... It was a bizarre thing to see.

Do you think looks and charisma play a part? I don't think this is entirely about the press.

Howard Kurtz: If the guy gets a huge reaction, if he seems to be tapping into something in the culture, then the media coverage on that score is understandable. Obama is something of a political phenom; I'm not saying the press has conjured this out of whole cloth. But is he a plausible president at this stage of his career? That's the question.

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Washington, D.C.: At what point in their careers do pundits pay a price for being either wrong or mendacious? Cokie Roberts said this morning that the polls are tightening in the Republicans' favor. She cited no evidence, perhaps because the evidence is contrary to her hope/opinion. Perhaps this will be the accountability election, both for the Republicans and their enabling shills in the media.

Howard Kurtz: That's actually a pretty safe bet, since polls always tighten in the last 10 days. The question for Republicans is whether they'll tighten enough to keep their House losses below 15 seats.

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Washington, D.C.: Mr. Kurtz, actually I think some of his fellow senators started the push for Obama to run. If the media is covering '08 trends, why wouldn't Obama be asked about it? In fact, one year ago when I was talking to everyone I know about Obama running, I had not seen one single article speculating he would run. Chris Cillizza constantly says he won't consider him a candidate until he enters the race (which of course is far different than HRC who also hasn't announced). So I don't really get how the media is spurring this potential run.

Howard Kurtz: Of COURSE we should cover the buzz out there. Of course we shouldn't ignore it. But when you have Time, Oprah, Meredith Vieira, Clarence Page and David Brooks practically begging him to run for president, that's something very different.

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San Francisco, Calif.: To your knowledge, have the Democrats run any negative ads? It's seems to me that talk about dirty campaigning for this mid-term election seems to stem exclusively from Republican actions.

Howard Kurtz: Negative ads? Sure. Hundreds of them. But the Democratic negative ads in this cycle tend to be based more on policy (Candidate X is a tool of Big Oil, too close to Bush, doesn't support the minimum wage) as opposed to the really personal stuff (didn't pay his taxes, called a sex hotline, went to a Playboy party).

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San Mateo, Calif.: Articles about the Webb novels included excerpts, which it seems is not fair to the author, as they're ridiculously out of context. Was it really necessary? When the Danish cartoon thing happened, almost all newspapers didn't print them. Couldn't the papers, in fairness to Webb, given a general description without direct quotations?

Howard Kurtz: If you're going to cover that story, I think it's only fair to provide readers and viewers with examples so they can decide if it amounts to a hill of beans.

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Washington, D.C.: Howard: On Inside Washington this week, conservative Charles Krauthammer said that he would favor Obama being elected to the presidency because America should at long last have a black president.

If this isn't media heat, I don't know what is!

Howard Kurtz: Yes, Krauthammer is another good example. To be fair, Krauthammer wrote in The Post that Obama would undoubtedly lose in '08 if he runs, citing his lack of experience in a post-9/11 world. But he said that would put Obama in a position to run again and win the next time.

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Arlington, Va.: I will be happy when this election is over and I won't have to watch all of these moronic TV commercials any more. Have we become a nation of idiots that are swayed by this cavalcade of stupidity? Or is this yet another symptom of too much money in politics that have to be spent on something so this is what we get?

Howard Kurtz: Candidates spend millions of dollars on these ads because they work. They work best in races where voters don't have many sources of independent information (such as House races, which tend to be undercovered by newspapers and hardly at all by local TV). But the net effect is a barrage that can get extremely annoying. In this area, I can't turn on the TV without seeing the same spots over and over again, Allen and Webb denouncing each other and the same for Ben Cardin and Michael Steele in the Maryland Senate race.

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TV Land: Since The Post changed its daily TV listings in the print edition, there's no longer a Reliable Source for information about your TV show. They used to list your Sunday guests in Saturday's paper, but now I can't find a list in either the Saturday or Sunday Post, or on the CNN site (until they post the transcript). When you've got an interesting topic or guest, I like to watch, but otherwise I forget and stick with my usual routine of CBS Sunday Morning and Meet the Press. Is there some other way you can give some advance notice?

Howard Kurtz: I don't want to get too self-promotional here (though I sure would have liked to tout the fact that Charlie Gibson was on Sunday). For those who care, you can sign up for a weekly newsletter at the Reliable Sources site on CNN, which sends out the guests each week.

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Arlington, Va.: Mr. Kurtz, I think your account of Obama's easy stroll to election in 2004 leaves out an important fact: GOP nominee Jack Ryan wasn't forced to drop out by Mrs. Ryan. He was forced to drop out because the Chicago Tribune plucked these sex-club details out of Mrs. Ryan's legal documents. Why didn't you write anything about the Tribune's role?

Howard Kurtz: Well, we did at the time; this was just shorthand. But ultimately, the Chicago Tribune doesn't force candidates out of the race; it was the reaction to that story which prompted Ryan to drop out.

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RE: Obama: In understanding the fervor over Obama, tell me 1 incident since the 2004 Democratic Convention that got more Democrats excited in a positive way more than Obama's speech at the convention. That has to be one of the top political speeches since JFK! That's what has Democrats excited ...

Howard Kurtz: Then more power to him. But I remember another Democrat who got the party excited with a rousing convention speech. It was 1984, his name was Mario Cuomo, and in the end he never ran.

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Denver, Colo.: I think one of Obama's formidable characteristics is his sheer intelligence.

Howard Kurtz: That never hurts.

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Houston, Tex.: I would hardly call Cokie Roberts an "enabling shill" for either side...

Howard Kurtz: I would agree.

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Re: Cokie Roberts: Yah, she's a real shill. Are you kidding me?

Howie, does it ever cease to amaze you how quick people are to call names because they hear something that doesn't fit into their world view? Honestly.

Howard Kurtz: I cover the media. Nothing surprises me any more.

Thanks for the chat, folks.

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