Campaigns tried to dim press's influence, panel says

Patrick Healy, a political reporter for The New York Times, likens a candidate's life on the campaign trail to a press-filled bubble.

Healy has traveled across the country on the primary campaign trail for over a year, witnessing the twists and turns of the election firsthand. He spoke about his work at 'Covering the Campaign of a Lifetime,' a roundtable discussion about the media tactics surrounding the presidential election campaign, which took place during a 'Foundations of Journalism' lecture yesterday.

The panelists included Healy; Howard Goldberg, New York bureau chief of the Associated Press; BBC Washington correspondent Katty Kay; Al-Jazeera's director of United States operations Abderrahim Foukara; and Jay Rosen, an NYU journalism professor and founder of the media criticism blog PressThink.org.

The panelists began by discussing what exactly has made this election so important in the United States and the world. To journalists, this election has been one of unprecedented surprises and factors such as race, age and gender, never before so relevant to a political campaign.

Foukara offered insight into how the Middle East perceives the 2008 election.

'The Middle East and Africa see this election through the prism of Iraq,' Foukara said. 'Iraq is, emotionally speaking, the epicenter of what it feels like to be Arab ... [the Iraqi occupation] hit deep, deep into the Arabic psyche, like Sept. 11 hit the American psyche.'

The panelists also analyzed the campaign's relationship with the media during the campaign.

Most agreed that Sen. Barack Obama has consistently distanced himself from reporters by avoiding holding press conferences.

Healy said reporters covering Sen. John McCain, however, saw a noticeable shift in his attitude toward reporters midway through the campaign.

Rosen views McCain's campaign as attempting to 'delegitimize the press' and to 'create itself as a victim of the press.'

Healy agreed, adding that candidates try to disarm the power of the media.'

'McCain grew increasingly uncomfortable with his political persona,' he said.

Kay emphasized the press' ability to cover stories about the candidates the audience can relate to.

'There are two candidates who have very different philosophies,' Kay said. 'Likeability is very important and a legitimate part of campaign coverage ... people want to know whether they like this guy.''

The panelists also touched on the changing pace of the news cycle, which has been spurred on by online technology. This enables stories to come and go much quicker than in previous times.

Newspapers over the last decade, according to Rosen, have become increasingly analytical because of this change.

They also noted how political coverage is often driven by 'web sensations' that the press picks up on. Independent organizations and bloggers help to inform one another and the public.

'Friends are playing the role of editor,' Rosen said, referring to sites like Delicious and Digg.

' The roundtable discussion was received well by most of the students.

'I thought it was fascinating and I wish it had gone on for [longer],' CAS junior Richard Thompson said.

CAS junior Tracy Wu felt it gave her some perspective.

'What Foukara said, to me, was most telling,' she said. 'We think that the economic situation affects us the most. That was not true. Foukara showed the audience how the Middle East perceives the United States of America.'

Anila Alexander is a contributing writer. E-mail her at campus@nyunews.com.