Former ABC news reporter Steve Bell discussed the changing face of the media's political coverage during a lecture Wednesday, Feb. 25 in Whitley Auditorium. Bell will hold a second lecture titled "The Media and the Military" at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 26 in Whitley. Details...
Bell, an Emmy Award-winning journalist who is serving as Visiting Professor of Leadership during his Feb. 24-28 campus visit, told the audience Wednesday night that the evolution of the electronic media has changed the rules for political parties and candidates in America.
“As the electronic media has become dominant, it has changed the political process,” Bell said. “It has diluted the power of the political establishment. If you have media and money, you are no longer beholden to the president, Congress,” and other traditional forces in the battle for airtime, Bell said.
Talk shows, late-night comedy and the internet have also diluted the gatekeeper function of the media establishment.
“Today, anyone can put a story into play,” Bell said. “Candidates have learned they can bypass the traditional denizens of broadcast; you don’t have to go through Russert or by way of the other Sunday shows” to convey a message, Bell said.
Bell, who covered both domestic and international stories for ABC from 1967-1986, showed several video clips to illustrate the changing landscape of political coverage. Bill Clinton’s 1992 appearances on the Phil Donahue Show and the Arsenio Hall Show demonstrated unprecedented media savvy, Bell said.
“(Clinton), more than any other modern politician, had an outstanding grasp on how to use the media,” Bell said. With Donahue, Clinton was given the time to fully develop his answers and explain the allegations of infidelity made by Gennifer Flowers. By playing the saxophone on Arsenio Hall’s late-night show, Clinton targeted the potential of voters in the 18-29 age group.
Bell said alternative forms of media, such as Web-based newsletters like the Drudge Report, have caused mainstream media to be more careful before running stories. He pointed to the major networks’ reluctance to go forward with rumors about an alleged affair involving John Kerry and an intern as proof that networks and major newspapers know they walk a fine line between breaking stories and airing falsehoods.
“The media is under constant pressure to go with the story, even if it is coming from a Matt Drudge kind of source,” Bell said. “Conservative talk radio ran with the story about Kerry’s rumored affair, but most mainstream media stayed away” because the report named no sources. “It’s a tremendous example of a story that’s out there, and the mainstream media just wants to say ‘no.'”