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
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• 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

[MKinPasadena]

The so called MSM should boycott all McCain and Palin events. Deprive them of a national audience to spew their Junior High level rhetoric that is their campain, and serves to polarize us rather than lift us up over our basest of human fears and work together to solve some very scary problems that are facing our nation as well as all of mankind with Global Warming and the inevitability of Peak Oil.

The future awaits and McPalin don't belong there.

[peacegurl48]

And then plaster the truth about Palin right next to it. Palin makes me almost ashamed to be a Christian.

[grf67]

Don't ever be ashamed to be a Christian. Also, however, don't make the mistake of thinking that Palin or McCain are Christians. They are fundamentalist republicans which means that they can say anything regardless of its truth or charity. They are both simply ugly human beings.

[Chbronze]

Judge not, lest.....

[SouthernBlueBelle]

Ha, I think you are so correct (didn't want to say right). I have not heard that term before and it is perfect.

[progressivelady]

he should not tease us like that, just walk the walk, please

[YouDisgustMe]

mr. keller.....pls, go through with that...find the toughest nastiest story on mccain and put it on the front page...we won't mind :)

[2876]

And Palin calls herself a good christian woman! What HYPOCRISY!

[2876]

And she calls herself a good Christian woman!!!! What hypocrisy.

[grf67]

McCain calls himself a hero too; this is also false. For the truth go to vietnamveteransagainstmccain.com.

[2876]

Why aren't the Obama surrogates out attacking Palin's close connection with the Secessionist movement? Every single day, she continues to run her mouth, spout hate filled garbage, and incite her fanactics with her lies and smears.

[philosopherkingtomas]

impeach McCain just in case !

[markslyles]

McCain has already stated that this is a lie! )
http://McCain-Bill-Keller.notlong.com

[northstar11]

i must have missed the one where mccain complained of bias at FAUX

[OpusIsUnderTheBed]

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

One. You would be doing your country a service.

Two. If you don't have a tough story in preparation, you're reporters are not doing their job.

[Chris]

If it is news worthy why would they hold it?

[AynRand123]

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

You mean something along the lines of a front page hit piece based on a friend of a friend who knew someone who thought that he might have heard that perhaps someone thinks McCain had an inappropriate relationship with a female lobbyist?

I'm sure Keller laughs a lot these days. He's basically like a passenger on the Titantic who's smiling as the band plays while the boat sinks. The Old Gray Lady is sinking, too. The only diff is that no one cares.

[ibelievehope08]

Ummmmmm. i am pretty sure that the music you're hearing is coming from the McCain camps desperate last stand to distract the voters from the fact that he's only got smears left...

[OpusIsUnderTheBed]

I believe McCain once watched the movie "Munich". Do we really want a CIC who gets enjoyment from watching violent, terrorist acts?

[AynRand123]

I'm sure you think you're making a point, but I'll be damned if I can figure out what it is and how it relates to my comment.

[BarryChamplain]

Oh. You must mean VICKI ISEMAN, THE COMCAST LOBBYIST WHOSE SEXUAL DALLIANCES WITH JOHN MCCAIN LED TO SUBSEQUENT FAVORABLE CORPORATE TREATMENT, AND WHOSE PRESENCE NEAR THE SENATOR SO WORRIED MCCAIN'S OWN STAFFERS THAT THEY ARE THE ONES WHO REVEALED THEIR OWN CONCERN ABOUT THIS TO THE TIMES; AND WHO LATER WAS DISAPPEARED BY THE GOP, FOR THE DURATION OF THE ELECTION YEAR, AS A FULL-SCALE, ALL-MEDIA ATTACK WAS LAUNCHED ON THE NEW YORK TIMES.

Y'know. Her.

[AynRand123]

Hint: The Caps Lock key is usually on the left side of the keyboard.

Gee, you seem rather certain about McCain's "dalliances". What do you base that on? Even the NY Times smear piece didn't take it that far. Of course, when a certain liberal Senator from North Carolina was under the same cloud, they ignored it.

And we know for sure that Obama was responsible for favorable corporate treatment for an employer of a woman he slept with, i.e., his wife. Are you familiar with her salary tripling after Obama was elected to the Senate (followed soon after by millions in ear marks pushed by BO)? Haven't read that one very often in the Times, have you?

[bluzz]

How much you want to bet that Winky Palin never read Atlas Shrugged?

Oh, and mcsame was totally hittin' that!

[Ozarks]

Probably because she wanted the Wasslia Library to burn Atlas Shrugged and The Fountain Head. She probably thought Ann Rynd was some comic book villain and The Fountain Head was some porno movie and book.

[98rsd]

The Old Gray Lady is still here, but the Sun sank, Ayn.

[AynRand123]

Who cares about or said anything about the Sun? The Old Gray Lady is on life support. She won't go willingly or quietly, but she is going.