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Sunday: Gray Lady in town
posted at 2007-10-07 23:59 | Last modified 2007-11-14 10:38
NC made the front page of the NYT today, and not in a good way, either. Governor Mike Easley and the state lottery starred in a story on how lotteries nationwide aren't generating the kind of money politicians said they would. As the most recent state to start one, we were the logical target.
If you haven't already, go to the NYT site and check out the video report. It's like Memory Lane meets Jones St – including archival 2001 footage of a cigar-brandishing lawmaker on the House floor during Easley’s first State of the State. Niiiiice. Lottery opponent Sen Minority Leader Phil Berger also gets a lot of camera time and carries it off extremely well.
Speaking of camera time
John Edwards had some ‘splainin to do this morning on Meet the Press, where Tim Russert put him on the spot to explain why his campaign consultant, David “Mudcat” Saunders, is telling America that “The Clintons screwed us."
Edwards’ wince was visible. “Well, Mudcat has a way of saying things that I wouldn’t say exactly the way he does.” (Maybe because Mudcat’s not running for office.)
Edwards did manage a few masterful moments, using Russert’s questions to springboard into his own talking points. But there were other moments when his wide-eyed idealism toppled over into disingenuousness -- like his defense of his choice to take public financing.
“This is going to be an election, Tim, it’s not going to be an auction. We’re not going to determine who can raise the most money and thereby who should be president of the United States.”
Oh, really? Didn’t he figure out how that worked back in '04?
Then again, at least he didn’t take a phone call from his wife when things heated up.
Other good stuff this weekend:
- Tempest: The #1 pork-barrel joke at the legislature is headed for the history books. Char-O’s Mark Johnson says Sparta’s much-vaunted teapot museum won’t happen.
- Taking license: The legislature isn’t due back in town till next May, but the N&O’s Dan Kane says some lawmakers are already drawing a bead on the DMV.
- Schoolhouse Rock: "I'm just a bill" got a whole lot more interesting this week for a high school class in Ohio, thanks to State Rep. Matthew Barrett. He initially said he had "no idea" how x-rated photos could've ended up on the same memory stick as his powerpoint presentation. But later reports put the blame on Barrett's teenaged son. (Sounds like a joke, I know...but it really happened.)
Shout Out
Winston Salem’s Paul O’Connor gave bloggers (including yours truly, thanks!) a little love this weekend...with a few misgivings on the side.
I oughta know. In my copious spare time, I’m president of Capitolbeat, the national association of statehouse reporters and editors. And I can vouch that if you put four reporters in a room together, sooner or later the discussion will inevitably turn to whether new media in general – and blogs in particular – are good for journalism.
They usually agree to disagree before they come to blows. Not always, mind you, but usually.
Whatever side you come down on, one thing's clear: online news gives the lie to the longstanding myth that no one cares about political news. Clearly, people do - we reporters just haven’t been doing it right. The web gives us the opportunity to get it right – to rethink what we do, to tell stories in ways people want to hear, but that newsprint and tape never allowed.
When you get right down to it, storytelling has always been the heart of what reporters do. And the web is the killer app of storytelling, because it gives you every tool you could imagine - sound, pictures, video, background, secondary refs - to help your audience understand how things fit together and why they matter. For a storyteller, it’s like Christmas everyday. That’s why I blog.
Comments? Drop me a line.
