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Title
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Strange bedfellows : how television and the presidential candidates changed American politics, 1992
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Description
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As the presidential campaign of 1992 began, the television networks approached it with dread. The media honchos assumed the public had turned off to politics, George Bush was a shoo-in, and they would earn only blame for whatever they did. They became more intent on cutting their costs than in covering the campaign. "Thus, as preparations for the New Hampshire primary began, ABC, the leading news network, decided to assign only one off-air producer to each candidate; the other two broadcast networks were going to do even less. The result of this early decision was that the networks found themselves playing catch-up for much of the unpredictable campaign of 1992. And the candidates found themselves establishing new arenas in which to present themselves to an attentive public. Televised town-hall meetings, appearances on Donahue, Larry King, Arsenio Hall, Good Morning America, and almost every other nontraditional media format became the vehicle for supplying voters with the information the candidates wanted them to have." "No one could have foreseen the shaping of this campaign, but early in 1991, Tom Rosenstiel, award-winning media and politics reporter for the Los Angeles Times, had decided to write Strange Bedfellows, a book that would follow a network for an entire campaign. ABC granted Rosenstiel complete access to their news division, and with this unprecedented access, he shows us how the media shaped and misshaped the improbable campaign of 1992, how the mysterious world of network television news operates, and how the networks are seeing their influence over the news shrivel in the rapidly changing era of New Media."
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Identifier
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446896
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1562828592
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Creator
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Rosenstiel, Tom
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Format
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1st ed.
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Source
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Brian Lamb Booknotes Collection
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Gift of Brian Lamb, 2011.
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Catalog record
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Language
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eng
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Date
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1993
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Program air date: August 8, 1993.
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Publisher
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Hyperion
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George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections & Archives
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Text
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Transcription of Annotations
Underlinings/notes: Bob Schieffer/producer Janet Leissner--changed view of politics/journalism. Most political writers do not know medium. Peter Jennings, Paul Friedman, Jim Wooten, Brit Hume, Jeff Greenfield, Chris Bury. Press's cynicism--great harm. Tech. lower standards of American journalism. Rim. Early night--wrong. Press knew less than it thought. Lessons drawn from outcome overstated. Hume vocal conservative. Perot--lied about voting on election day. Dean used to think campaigns should be shorter but after following Perot thought someone might sneak in via TV if campaigns shorter. Cokie Roberts--wrong. Anchormen in a video age. 13 million people. 1992 major networks plus CNN joined forces for combined exit poll. Friedman--hope academics who made a living criticizing us for the last 4 years will be unemployed tomorrow. Election reconnected vs. disconnected mass media. Republicans argued liberal press against Bush. Roone Arledge--appointed Friedman to redesign newscast. Tim Russert suggested keeping key reporters off campaign planes. Vietnam land war--loathing toward TV swelled. Oct.1964, CBS/NBC expanded nightly news from 15 to 30 min. Friedman wanted to change coverage--reject conventional stories--challenged staff to think creatively. ABC News--35 hours/week of programming--1,300 staffers. Stephen Weiswasser=Arledge's equal brought in to co-administer division, cut costs. 1992, ABC hoped to cut spending 50% from 4 years earlier. Scramble among correspondents to cover campaign. Brit Hume--lead correspondent on Bush. Jim Wooten. Jeff Greenfield, Cokie Roberts. Outsiders called in Bill Kovach--disaster-- network TV of superficial, lack of courage. Most prepared NBC--Tim Russert/Bill Wheatly. CNN--copious/sloppy coverage. Americans hated it, bad for ratings--network news need to blend-in with shows that preceded them. Wooten--end of Cold War elim. reason to vote Republican--recession gave people reason to vote Democratic. Clinton became front-runner via invisible primary. Few reporters believe in objectivity--idea that journalism neutral--strive to be fair. By the time the morning paper arrived, people heard/saw the story several times on C-Span or CNN. Print reporters turned to writing books. Clinton referred to journalist E.J. Dionne as "my friend." Joe Klein too close to Clinton; part of a group of intellectuals working to reshape policy. Clinton tried to cultivate Michael Kramer at Time. Ronald Brownstein--invisible circle of complicity. Clinton called him at home to pursue some idea. Sidney Blumenthal--Clinton aides used him--made him feel like insider. Clinton needed liberal support. Media should not play kingmaker. Gennifer Flowers. Friedman/Jennings did not run Flowers' story. Major networks did not run story, local news stations did. Compulsion in press to match competition on every story=mindless. Don Hewitt tried to get Clinton to admit to adultery on 60 Minutes. Medias 2 choices--return to standard private conduct only relevant when demonstrably influences performance in public office. Or, publish without hesitation, but in different context. Most believed Clinton dishonest about Flowers affair. Draft letter--Clinton's composure astonished them. Wooten and Clinton--Clinton lied about draft notice. ABC allowed Clinton to steal scoop, obscure meaning of story. ABC crew photocopied letter at hotel, clerk made copy, sent it to a friend involved in Republican politics/military. Koppel read draft letter; Carville claimed Koppel great to them. Clinton shallow. Paul Tully--Clinton's biggest problem--90% of the press corps consider him a liar. April 22, 1992--Clinton's environmental speech scheduled for between 10:15-10:45. 3 hours of tape, 2 min. on air. Paul Begala believed Roger Ailes--press mostly interested only in conflict, scandal, polls, process, and gaffes. Environmentalists not satisfied with Clinton's record in Ark. ITN no script approval--BBC correspondent says footage he wants, what sound bites in what order, editor puts it together. Clinton took his philosophical choices from E.J. Dionne book, a reporter who covered speech. Michael Harrison, Caroltta Bradley, Mike Siegal, Mary Beal--talk-radio hosts confronted by audience who wanted to discuss Perot following his appearance on Larry King. By time Wash. Post/NYT took note of Perot in March, already 20% in the polls. Jennings, feeling of isolation from the country. Deaver believed Reagan elected because he was on the radio everyday for 5 years, spoke to 50 million people a year, 4 hours a day on TV. Newspaper people of the new generation from Ivy League. TV elite. 1st names on CNN/Capitol Gang. Weekend of 22 March, Perot made the front pages of Wash. Post, LA Times, Sunday NBC Nightly News. Brinkley and Perot--damn fool, very nasty, not asked back to the show. Friedman thought the Perot coverage shameless, adoring, resented covering him. 3 months after King interview World News finally aired 1st piece on Perot. Perot media philosophy: TV over print; Live TV over anything that could be edited--dropped out 17 July. Reporters and Perot--unsuitable for president. Morton Dean introduced himself to Perot--Perot glared. 9 projects on Perot; pieces didn't get on the air. By June--Perot 60 stories/week in NYT and Wash. Post combined, 1/3 on p.1. Questions from talk shows predictable. Campaign interviews orchestrated, offered viewers little value other than ritual combat; agenda to make news. As Perot surged, national press published pieces about him. Perot said people didn't read any more. Murphy Martin. Perot thought he was being set-up. Squire and Luce call--Jennings. Alliance and lobbying. Jewish beard. Perot impact. Mike Murphy--Clinton 43%; Perot did not win single state. Republicans charged Democratic media bias. Put Pat Buchanan on at 9:50. NBC began Democratic convention coverage at 9:30 so that Cheers viewers would watch. Who's in control of broadcast--parties or network? '92 Arledge--produced both conventions for $2 million each. IFB--live television hell. For 2nd convention--cut costs to $2.5 mill. Jennings taped interview with Bush at WH request. Conventions far from irrelevant. Jim Lake, Bush's communications adviser, network's approach impudent. Candidates not networks should determine issues. Bush live on GMA 6 times. Bush/Koppel deal on Iran. Cannot overstate power of the news. ABC News Clinton North. Tim Russert--half of what politicians do is talk with the media, prepare to talk to the media, or read, or watch the media.
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Subject
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"Television in politics--United States."
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"Presidents--United States--Election--1992."
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"Mass media--Political aspects."
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Relation
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Original Booknotes interview
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Rights
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