Bill Keller: McCain's Bias Claims Make Me Want To "Find The Toughest McCain Story We've Got And Put It On The Front Page"

At this weekend's New Yorker Festival, Ken Auletta moderated a panel called "Covering the Campaign" with Bill Keller, Jack Shafer, Peggy Noonan and Ta-Nehisi Coates. It was terrific and I live-Twittered it, and my highlights are below. For me, there were two standouts: Coates and Keller, the former because he's such a dynamic new voice, and the latter because he's such a dynamic new voice. What I mean by that is, I have never seen him speak before — he's not one for these panels that often — and I was struck by how forthright and engaged he was. For instance, his blunt response to Auletta's question about the attacks by the McCain campaign: "My first tendency when they do that is to find the toughest McCain story we've got and put it on the front page." Also, it was a treat to see him smile and laugh, which he did often. Which was a surprise actually, but nice to see. Anyhow, the fruits of my Twitters are below - enjoy!

• Covering the Campaign panel: Peggy Noonan, Bill Keller, Jack Shafer, Ken Auletta, Ta-Nehisi Coates.

• Peggy had the floor for a while, with sympathy for Palin's tough campaign experience. She said that intvus are about thrust and parry.... 09:24

• ...and debates are about thought and reflection. She said debate showed that Palin knew how to think. 09:25 AM

• Ta-Nehisi Coates: "I never thought that she didn't know how to think, just that she doesn't know how to answer." 09:27 AM

• Keller: We fact-check campaign ads more than we did 4 years ago, and that's a real service. Took a lesson from online. 09:29 AM

• Coates: As a blogger, I appreciate the MSM - Jeff Goldberg in the Atlantic, Couric, Lizza in NYer on O in Chicago. 09:31 AM

• But - we have missed a real opportunity to talk about race here. What does it mean? His votes in SC, how he's diff than Sharpton - the why. 09:34 AM

• Ta-Nehisi Coates is a STAR. Writer, thinker, and clearly such a mensch. STAR. 09:36 AM
  Story continues below
  advertisement

• Keller: We did! I can't tell you how many hours we spent! 09:37 AM

• Also, to Coates: We've got a series coming up you're gonna like. 09:37 AM

• Peggy: The passing of Tim Russert at NBC has had an effect on the whole. 09:38 AM

• Big broadcast networks are not covering like they did. Peggy noticed the diff at the conventions. 09:39 AM

• Bias! Auletta asks about sexism (Hil and Pal), black bias (Wright), Mormons (Romney) 09:40 AM

• Keller: Hoyt's column will address the McCain camp claims of bias. His conclusion: We've written more tough pieces on Obama than McCain. 09:42 AM

• Keller on McCain camp criticism: "My first tendency when they do that is to find the toughest McCain story we've got and put it on the front page."

• (But he doesn't.) 09:43 AM

• "My first tendency when they do that is to find the toughest McCain story we've got and put it on the front page."
  
  
• Oh come on Peggy, don't blame Hillary for acknowledging actual sexism. It WAS there, incidentally at least if not systemically. 09:45 AM

• Shafer: calls back to Dan Okrent on examining bias. Yeah it's there but at the end are they fair? 09:47 AM

• Shafer: I don't feel so bad asking a politician the hard questions. 09:48 AM

• Shafer ran local papers and said that it was really hard to find a conservative who wants to be a reporter. (They all wanted to be commentators in a bow tie like George Will.) 09:50 AM

• Auletta: Media has a bias for conflict. 09:53 AM

• Keller: it's true, we don't report on all the people who didn't get murdered yesterday. 09:54 AM

• Coates: Sometimes I wish I had an editor...you don't always filter yourself, esp when you're angry. 09:56 AM

• Auletta to Peggy: What are we missing? She can't believe the segregation of candidates from the press. 10:06 AM

• She thinks they miss moments of observation, getting a sense of who they are by the moments of how they act. 10:07 AM

• Coates: Okay fine, but isn't that how the press got so surprised by McCain and his conduct now? 10:08 AM

• Shafer: Beware of access, too much of it is corrupting. 10:09 AM

• Shafer shouts-out Jake Tapper and John Dickerson, the Twitter king 10:10 AM

• Keller: NYT site had 40 million pageviews on Sept 15th when Wall St went to hell. 10:32 AM

• Questions! This is where I got up and filmed a few, so I didn't Twitter. Great questions from an informed audience. A woman named Maggie had a pointed question on sexism in the campaign coverage; Jack Shafer said he didn't feel qualified to address that. Afterwards I raised an eyebrow at Shafer in disbelief - if anyone is qualified to call bullshit on the press, it's him. Just one lipsticked gal's opinion. Speaking of lipstick, Noonan made a great point: However grueling a candidate's schedule in, add one one more hour in the morning for a woman, who has to do makeup, hair and pick an outfit that won't send the press into a tizzy. "I don't want to see them without makeup, either!" she said. Eh, I have no problem with it. Also, Peggy was wearing very cool tinted shades. Maybe she didn't have that hour, but I think she holds up just fine either way.
  
  
• Great panel. Ta-Nehisi Coates is my new fave. Shafer is a loveable curmudgeon, as always. 10:50 AM

Update: Here is a video from question period, with the great question on sexism in the campaign from Maggie Haskell, I think her name was.

Comments

[kellygrrrl]

The ReThugs have so lost their minds they are now calling "Fact-Checkers" the elite gotcha media

[Thinkingclearly]

I'd love to see a story that said "What year is it? 1968 or 2008?

Trying to link Barack in some kind of time travel stunt where either at 8 years old, he got on a plane and helped the Weathermen protest the war and make bombs. Put it in context, hundreds of thousands of baby boomers protested Vietnam--the pipe bomb at the pentagon was nothing like 9/11--zero people were injured. But that was 4 decades ago. They tossed out ther hippie beads, cut their hair, committed to one wife (at a time at least), had kids, a career, and are checking their 401k's and Social Security statements to see if they're going to be comfortable in retirement now. Ayers is what 62-63? Ayers doesn't make pipe bombs and John McCain doesn't do bombing runs over Vietnam in the morning ("there's only one candidate who ever fought for you"), he's 10 years past retirement and he wants the most stressful and complex job in the world.

I'd like to see the NYT do a full page story on Sarah Palin and the Alaska Independent party. Her connections with Ted Stevens. Google "Mean Girl" by David Talbot--there's plenty there.

Since the press isn't allowed to talk to her or her crowds, it's time Biden's speeches and crowds get equal time.. Otherwise, the press becomes a free attack ad. Attack if they must--but the rest of the US doesn't need to hear it every night.

[sweetbiscuit]

Re-printing the tweets doesn't really work -- this post should give you the opportunity to actually write a coherent piece about the event. This comes off as lazy journalism.

[CallMeDeaconBlues]

And they wonder why the stock went from a high of 48 dollars per share in 2004 to 13.74 per share current.

[postman606]

The stock price of every major newspaper is way down, because people are reading news online.

[the-lexicon]

Umm.....wa­s the conference recorded? couldn't you have just provided a real transcript? That jumble of one-line chatroom notes is less than useless for your reader.

Apparently, "live-twitter" is shorthand for "shabby and disheveled­." write your column, call me back, and I'll read it.

lexicon

[sciabattoni]

thanks for proving how useless twitter is for actual substance.
you know, we can wait until you collect your notes to read a fully realized and thought out story.
will you publish scribbled notes on cocktail napkins next?

[deadbolt]

There's nothing less newsworthy than a bunch of newspeople talking about themselves.

[beaujolie]

stop giving Palin a pass - how about an indepth article on their family's involvement in the anti-american, violent (past history) party in Alaska for starters. and don't forget McCain's past associations which have been noted by some press.

[JJeff88]

Know what I miss from the pages of the "Newspaper of Record?"

A really good point-by-point analysis of Conservative vs. Progressive economic philosophies; including a critique of what has and has not worked during the past 16 years (equally split between Democratic and Republican administrations).

For example - Conservatives claim that, since some big government programs haven't worked, it's better to have less government or even no government. They feel that regulation stifles capitalistic competition.

By contrast, Liberals believe that the issue shouldn't be about big government or small government but about "good" government and that to eliminate programs altogether - instead of rolling up our sleeves and fixing them - is the lazy way out. They also feel that some regulation levels the playing field and actually promotes fairer competion in the free market.

Why can't we have that debate - instead of obsessing about whose preacher said what or what cake sale chum burned her bra in high school?

[boophus]

Look at the web sites found under search "National Debt". It will open your eyes. These sites are just the data report as numbers and charted out for easy comparison. It show s beyond a doubt that the national debt goes up more under republicans. The only reason they are even close over last 100 years is the impact of WW II on Dems debt and even then they are lower. So while Dems actually want to behve like thier brothers keeper, it is better for economy to do so. Another interesting factoid ; during republican presidents and houses the revenue was lower then the expenditures as opposed to during Democrat majorities.
Another fascinating area is the portion of budget that goes to various things including military and what is called servicing the debt (Simple language the interest). Add into this where doe sthe money for the debt come from and how they use the Social Security Fund to finagle it to make it appear better.

[judesedit]

McCain is 100% incompetent to be president of this country and Palin is dangerous. She'll have him putting anyone who doesn't agree with her to death. Our jails are overcrowded now. Is it the 10th yet? I'm interested in the findings of her mock trial. Look into McCain's past, I mean, really look into his past. Talk to the people that really know him. To sum it up in one word...McC­ain and deceit go hand in hand. By the way, that 10 page article in Rolling Stone was EXCELLENT. Thankfully, some people are still reporting the truth.

[AynRand123]

"Find The Toughest McCain Story We've Got And Put It On The Front Page"

Instead of "Find", I think Mr Keller meant "Invent". That's more in line with their approach these days.

[jjordan]

Oooh, a Randian! Deep.

[98rsd]

Probably lives with Mom and Dad.

[Jeff1958]

They got rid of Judith Miller. Is that who you were alluding to?

[jorge4u]

I get the sense that if Mr. Keller threw that out there, there is something the NYT is sittting on and debating whether or not to print it.

[QueenOfViolets]

McCain is close buddies with Georgian President Saakashvili.

The New York Times just did a big story about Saakashvili's muzzling of the press in Georgia.

Saakashvili is a very passionate guy with a hot temper who doesn't appreciate criticism gracefully. He now seems to be heading down a very authoritarian path across the Georgian media landscape, in an attempt to control any criticism of his government.

McCain is also a very passionate guy with a hot temper who doesn't appreciate criticism gracefully. No wonder he and Saakashvili get along so well.

I hope for the sake of the First Amendment that we don't have to find just how much McCain and Saakashvili have in common as leaders.

[Americatortures]

JUST GET ROLLING STONE 's APPROVAL TO RUN THAT 10-PAGE BABY ON THE FRONT PAGE-AND THEN INSIDE!!! GET THIS GUY, BILL...HE'­S TRYING TO DAMAGE THE MESSENGER!!! SORT OF LIKE NIXON AND HIS CREW WITH THE WASHINGTON POST!!!

[bluesjones63]

Just a suggestion: the NYT might begin with the 10 page article in Rolling Stone.

[danielsadicario]

Hell to the yeah