Gearan Speaks at Kennedy School

Panelists at last night's Kennedy School event argued that the media needs to substantially change the way it covers the White House and national politics.

The discussion, entitled "The Media's Coverage of Clinton's First Year," drew about 300 people to the K-School's ARCO Forum.

Assistant to the President and White House Director of Communication Mark D. Gearan '78, said that while people want coverage of "real" issues which impact their lives, the press does not always provide it.

"People want a lot of coverage on the issues at the center of their lives, be that health care or whatever, and when we falter from that, we get into news that is less elevated," Gearan said.

Margaret Tutwiler, the former Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, agreed that the press often fails to cover the important issues.

"Real news today has been crowded out by sensationalism," Tutwiler said. "We read so much about the Bobbit trial and about so-and-so getting divorced, that it affects quality."

Washington correspondent Thomas N. Oliphant '67, who writes for the Boston Globe, said substantive coverage of Washington has been crowded out of newspapers by sensationalist stories and over-analysis of events.

"I have seen a steep drop in the standards of the profession," Oliphant said. "Writing about things like political strategy has today crowded the serious substantive White House journalism out of journalism."

Oliphat suggested the tightening of libel standards as a means of combatting low-quality reporting.

Coziness

Panelists also noted evidence of an excessive closeness between government officials and some journalists.

"They take them out for dinner to Duke's, said Charles Peters, editor of the Atlantic Monthly.

But Gearan said the links between reporters and politicians are not so tight.

"I don't think the coziness is quite so graphic," Gearan said. "I think that by and large, people work hard to get their stories right."

Tutwiler denied that any "coziness" between officials and press exists.

"I have been friends with journalists but they still wrote bad stories about me," she said.

The press is also often not knowledgeable enough to cover the complex issues they write about, Peters said.

"They [journalists] just don't understand the real issues like health care and the executive workings of the White House," he said. "We need to get experts in these fields."

Washington Post staff writer Ann Devroy said she agreed with Peter's criticism.

But a bigger problem with media coverage of Washington is the fault of the White House, not the reporters, she said. Presidents need to be conscious of the media in their actions and statements, she said.

"Bush was the first non-speaking President," Devroy said. "He had no concern about rhetoric or communication."

In the discussion, Gearan defended the Clinton administration against the attacks he has seen in the media.

"Despite the White House's rollercoaster year and the media coverage that existed, one has to stop and look back at all the successes," he said. "The proof is in the pudding."

He referred to economic developments like the North American Free Trade Agreement, health care reforms and successful visits to other countries as evidence of progress made.

But he said that "mistakes were also made along the way. "He said the administration's initial coolness to the national press corps was one such mistake.

The media thought the White House "wanted to go above or around the national press corps," he said, but the administration never intended to send that message.

Gearan ended the discussion with praise for elements of the national media.

"There are many stories journalists who are very reflective about the situation and who are trying hard to improve it," Gearan said. "It is important that the media help explain what is going on our lives."