Month: January 2012
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New at CJR: A State of the Union media prebuttal
My new column at CJR warns journalists about overhyping the effects of tonight’s State of the Union address on public opinion: Tonight, President Obama will address Congress and the nation in his 2012 State of the Union address. The SOTU has become both an important civic and political ritual and a signal about the administration’s
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New at CJR: The out-of-context quote as gaffe
I have a new post up at CJR looking back at the way the press took Mitt Romney’s statement about health insurance out of context: Michael Kinsley famously wrote that “A gaffe is when a politician tells the truth—some obvious truth he isn’t supposed to say.” But in the 24/7 media age, another type of
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New at CJR: Forget the debates
My new post at CJR makes the case that the media are devoting too much attention to the debates in the Republican primary race. The super PAC-funded assault on Mitt Romney in South Carolina is far more likely to change the dynamics of the race: [I]f the debates are unlikely to sway voters, is there
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New at CJR: The New Hampshire expectations game
I have a new post up at CJR on the problems with journalists setting arbitrary expectations for candidate performance in presidential primaries. Here’s the lede: After finishing the Iowa caucus in a virtual tie with former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney is in a commanding position as the Republican primary campaign heads toward next
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New at CJR: The post-Iowa challenge
I have a new post up at CJR on the need for more self-awareness among political reporters about their role in creating an Iowa bounce. Here’s how it begins: Over the last week, much of the nation’s political press corps has headed to Iowa to cover the Republican presidential campaign. The saturation coverage is already