Journalistic Veterans Reflect on Role of Media in 2016 Race

With just 47 days until voters cast their ballots, audience members packed the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum to watch journalistic veterans Ann Compton, visiting fellow at the Institute of Politics, and Bob Schieffer, former moderator of CBS’ Face the Nation and now fellow at the Shorenstein Center, discuss the media’s role in this election cycle.

The event, moderated by Nicco Mele, director of the Shorenstein Center, was entitled “Media, Politics & Power: Trump, Clinton & the 2016 Election.” Mele noted that Compton and Schieffer have important insights on presidential debates, with Compton having served as a panelist on two and Schieffer having moderated three.

According to the panelists, the first presidential debate, just days away, is a crucial event for both the candidates and the moderators.

Schieffer said this presidential campaign has highlighted the importance of television news because of Republican candidate Donald J. Trump’s media tactics.

“He just realized that if you called a certain number of television programs, and agreed to be on them, that two or three would invite you to be on,” he said. “While [the candidates] were all going through all this old-fashioned kind of politics, he was just getting out there and getting on television.”

Schieffer cautioned the moderators against becoming part of the show during the debates.

“People go to baseball game to see the baseball players, they don't go to see umpire. And you’re the umpire,” he said.

He also urged the moderators to challenge the candidates when they give misleading statements, though he maintained the chief fact-checkers should be the candidates themselves.

When pushed by an audience member about the media’s treatment of Trump, Schieffer disagreed with the notion that the media has not been tough enough on Trump. He specifically cited David Fahrenthold’s ’00 reporting in the Washington Post, as well as Maggie Haberman and David Sanger’s ‘82 interview on foreign policy with Trump in the New York Times as exemplary pieces of journalism.

Compton, meanwhile, argued that new technology has also played a unique role in this election cycle.

“We have put the tools of journalism in the hands of the candidates themselves,” she said.

Because of the candidates’ increased control over their message, Compton and Schieffer agreed that the media must educate citizens in addition to informing them.

Audience member Abigail N. Burke ’19 said the talk provided her with new perspectives on the media.

“It was interesting to hear about the race from the media's point of view, because we get all of our news through the media.”