Gwen Ifill & Fighting the Smears
This may come as a shock to some, but even journalists have personal lives and hold political opinions. Their job is to set those opinions aside and be objective when reporting on an issue. No one has ever impugned Gwen Ifill’s integrity in any serious way, mostly because her most recent position is with the uber-wonky Lehrer Report, which is quite literally the antithesis of the garbage available on the more popular cable news nets.
The fact that Gwen Ifill is penning a book about modern-day African-American candidates and politicians is no surprise, as I’m sure PBS doesn’t pay megabucks and Ifill is looking to supplement her income with a scholarly book about a topic of interest to her. The book isn’t an Obama love letter, but is called “The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama.” It’s a legitimate topic, and Ifill is a professional.
It takes idiot troglodytes such as Matt Drudge and Michelle Malkin to allege that this is somehow evidence of Ifill’s bias in favor of Obama, and that she is a biased individual who shouldn’t moderate tonight’s VP debate – a debate in which Obama isn’t participating. The book itself? It’s been known about since July, and Ifill was agreed-to as the moderator on August 6th.
Obviously, if this was – let’s say – Kerry vs. Bush, the Con media would be going ballistic with calls for Ifill to step down, and chances are that Kerry would have tried to appease the Cons by trying to get Ifill to do just that. The only win in that scenario would have been Bush and the Cons.
Obama, to his credit, doesn’t ask “how high” when the Con media cries “jump”, and is benefiting from that. By ignoring a controversy that doesn’t exist, it comes back around to McCain, who is forced not to look like a petty whiner and says Ifill is just fine, thanks very much.
No one has suggested that Ifill will be tougher on Palin than Biden, and there’s no evidence whatsoever that there is even the appearance of impropriety with respect to her selection as a moderator, and the issue of her book.
The Republicans are to be commended for doing their best to pre-emptively diminish expectations for Palin, right down to working the refs. At this point, all Palin has to do is show up and not crumble.
I suspect that the debate tonight, as eager as everyone is to rubberneck the car wreck, will be anticlimactic, with no clear winner and no big gaffes. Palin will do just fine giving unchallenged, non-responsive answers to questions and repeating the talking points she’s been cramming for weeks. Biden will do just fine because he knows a lot about a lot of stuff and he’ll be respectful and not demeaning towards Palin.
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Cheney to Ifill 2004 —”Thats a question I can’t answer in 30 seconds”
Ifill to Cheney–”Well,30 seconds is all you’re gonna get.”
That’s fair and balanced, OK—If you’re a Democrat
So how’s Ifill’s book gonna sell when Obama loses? Not NEAR as good as if he wins.
As you say, Gwen Ifill is human. She believes in PROFIT. And her book will sell better IF Barry O and the 36 year Beltway INSIDER, bringing “Change from OUTSIDE”–Where that outside is I’m not sure, wins.
She’s fawned enough over Barry already. He’s the darling of the Media, their creation as the candidate. Of course being black would have nothing to do with that in Ifill’s eyes.
All she is, is the Networks’ Oprah Winfrey. About as far from fair and balanced, with good reason, as she can get.
She really believes a less than 1 term senator with no executive experience is the best qualified candidate.
And the Mirror image Companion Peace Bridge looks great too. So does the fully refurbised Statler, and the Bass Pro store is great!
Tell me, Hank. When Cheney and Ifill had that repartee in 2004, did Edwards get 30 seconds or more than 30 seconds? If he also got 30 seconds, then Ifill was absolutely 100% correct in shutting down Cheney’s whining.
“All she is, is the Networks’ Oprah Winfrey” is a really, really interesting statement.
“By ignoring a controversy that doesn’t exist, it comes back around to McCain, who is forced not to look like a petty whiner and says Ifill is just fine, thanks very much.”
Until, of course, he runs a series of ads in swing states pointing out how well Sarah Palin did even though the debate was stacked against her with a biased moderator. Until, of course, Nancy Pfotenauer, Tucker Bounds, and every McCain surrogate hits the talk shows to claim what a TREMENDOUS job Palin did even though the deck was stacked against her with an obviously biased moderator. Until, of course, every newspaper and broadcast news show picks up on those talking points and repeats them endlessly without critical analysis…as they have done for months.
It’s not about saying “how high” when the Republicans say “Jump”, it’s about understanding how the spin works and losing control of the message post debate. I think Sarah Palin is going to speak in unchallenged, glossy generalities and win this debate handily. She’ll get an insult in on Biden and she’ll look like a champ. As I said, debates are for people who have only seen her once or twice and they don’t really understand complex policy issues; they are low information, relationship voters. They aren’t already convinced that she is in fact, a babbling rhesus monkey.
Obama never should have agreed to Ifill in the first place and now that it’s an issue, he’s lost the battle here.
Also, after having given it some thought, why not call for a moderator change? McCain has already said he is not interested in a change. If on the offchance that Ifill could be replaced, it plays into Obama’s hands. Palin is prepared for Ifill…not for a short notice replacement. Could make things more interesting.
Hank, you should change your name to Cranky because you are sure acting like a spoiled child with your petty name calling and whining. I see the house next door sold on the eBay, what a deal.
simple question, Will Ifill make more money off of her book title “The Age of Obama” if Obama is elected than if he loses? If the answer is that she has a personal monetary interest in the outcome of the election then she should step down. There are thousands of journalist’s in this country not penning a paen to Obama so there is not need to have a perception of bias in the debate.
I am not saying she would definitely be biased, but there is no need to risk it, the stake are too high.
it’s one thing for a moderator to have personal opinions
it’s another for them to have a financial stake in the outcome
it’s a conflict of interest and she should step down from the role
Sally – if we had to put up with Clarence Thomas having a vote in the 2000 Supreme Court decision giving the Presidency to Bush even though his wife was actively working in the Heritage Foundation (a conservative research group) gathering résumés for appointments in a possible Bush administration, one whose fate was directly determined by her husband’s vote…
then Republicans can shut the fuck up about Gwen Ifill writing a book about politics and race in this decade that is neither solely concerned with, nor a outright endorsement of Obama. WATB, the lot of ‘em. Not to mention, Old Man Yelling At Clouds McCain had plenty of time to vet Ms. Ifill before agreeing to her as moderator. Poor, poor old man.
Gwen Ifill, at minimum, exudes the appearance of bias. A reasonable person probably would conclude that she has a vested interest in seeing Obama win the election. After all, her book is scheduled to be released for sale to the public on January 20, 2009, Inauguration Day. That date is not mere coincidence. It was picked to maximize sales. Therefore, any actions taken by Ifill which can directly influence the election should be treated with suspicion.
Doesn’t the “she is a woman so she must favor the female candidate” argument cancel out the “she is black so she must favor the black candidate” argument?
I mean, we Americans consider the black and white and male and female aspect to every decision we make every day, right?
Is it November 5th yet? Sheesh.
pundit…do you think that the apparently above reproach ms. ifill will ask biden about his helicopter being “forced down” in the mountains of afghanistan or coming under fire in the green zone of baghdad? how about his serial plagarism?
funny you post a picture of jeff gannon, since it was the niagara falls reporter’s open letter to our great congresswoman louise slaughter — and her forewarding the editorial along with a public letter of her own to president bush — that got gannon’s press pass ultimately revoked. the whole thing took a couple of more articles and interviews with various national media outlets like dailykoz, editor & publisher and salon, all of which is heavily documented on teh internets.
as i’ve always said, at the niagara falls reporter, we don’t just report the news, we make it!
Would any of the Dems/liberals minded if say, George Will moderated a VP or presidential debate?
Hudson, you forgot a word, “we make up the news” you should of said.
@Sally – the book’s name isn’t “The Age of Obama”. Hope that helps.
@Mike Hudson – for someone whose journalistic integrity and professionalism was assailed in a very recent article penned by none other than Bob McCarthy, whose accuracy and credibility you extolled in previous comments, I am surprised that you would parrot the Republican party line, which is unfairly smearing someone in your profession.
@Facts Plz – George Will is a commentator/columnist. He is not a journalist, but instead writes exclusively opinion pieces. He is the apple to Ms. Ifill’s orange.
The moderator’s job is to ask questions of the candidates. How on earth Ifill’s fairness could be called into question before she opens her mouth is beyond me.
I do not except your premise that it is not a journalists job to be biased.
Journalists are not licensed professionals. They have no meaningful ethics enforcement body. Lawyers, doctors, CPAs, engineers, architects, etc. all do have licenses and enforcement.
Infact, they are paid to be biased.
Journalists are hired and fired partially on their political affiliations. They perform to satisfy their employers because there is no other enforcement mechanism.
Republicans won’t be happy until Sean Hannity is named moderator so he can ask Joe Biden how uncomfortably he is with having a Muslim fanatic/Weather Undergroudn hippie terrorism supporter at the top of the ticket. Of course, for “balance”, he would ask Gov. Palin what her top 5 Reagan quotes are.
When your campaign is circling the bowl, time to game the refs!
BP, you are quibbling… While one of Ifill’s roles is or has been as a journalist, she is frequent political COMMENTATOR on MSnbc and other news shows and the Editor of a news program.
She clearly gives her POLITICAL OPINIONS AND OBSERVATIONS as a COMMENTATOR. I note she is also an EDITOR. Since ‘EDITORIALS’ are often opinion-based, I still would argue she is not a strict ‘journalist’ offering no opinion or bias in her work.
So ok. Let’s substitute Larry Kudlow’s name.
I stand corrected the full title is “The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama”
Of course if Obama is not elected the book’s title becomes moot and poor MS Ifill is out her 15% royalty – just thing if she only sells 100,000 books she would be out $300,000 I am sure chump change like that would not cause Ms Ifill to have any bias whatsoever – after all it’s only money.
Humanist if it doesn’t matter why doesn’t the Obama camp take the high road and suggest Hannity as the moderator?
Ifill moderates Washington Week every week on PBS. I don’t recall there being any hubbub about her impartiality. As I indicated, everyone – even Jim Lehrer – has opinions. The question is whether or not Lehrer or Ifill is professional enough as a journalist and moderator to set those personal prejudices aside and be fair.
I’m also curious as to where and when you’ve seen Ifill give an “editorial” on PBS, since the idea of the televised “editorial” pretty much died out with the advent of cable news and the talking head programs.
I’m a lawyer. If I go into a courtroom to do my job, I advocate for my client zealously regardless of whether I personally agree with the client or the position I’m advocating. That’s my job.
Ifill’s job tonight is to ask the candidates questions about foreign policy and domestic affairs. What has she asked that betrays a bias?
Oh yeah, nothing.
The only thing so far that has been held up to be an example of “bias” is the fact that she held Dick Cheney to the time limit during the 2004 debates. That seems to me to show a complete lack of bias.
Sally, I submit that Ann Coulter would be closer to equivalency. Lets see how that would go over!
Sally – Hannity as the moderator is the “high” road? No, my dear….Sean Hannity is a clown. He should no sooner host the debate than run a freak show down at the carnival (which aptly describes his show on Fox News).
Gwen Ifill has more professional integrity and accomplishment in one fingernail than Sean Hannity and any of the other screaming wingnut monkeys on Fox News can dream to attain. The only reason this is being made an issue by the desperate Republicans is the same reason she got a note at her first job (interning at the Boston Herald) saying “Nigger, go home” and the same motivation that moved Don Imus to call her a “cleaning lady”.
@Sally – Hannity is not a journalist. I’m also quite sure that this idiotic hubbub about her supposed “pro-Obama” book (which it does not appear to be), will do more than enough to ensure that her sales are sky-high.
@Goldman: Gwen Ifill writing a book about contemporary black politicians and the “breakthrough” of a black man winning a major party nomination for the first time in history is equivalent to “Hannity” or “Coulter”? Really?
@Sally – you do realize that Ms. Ifill’s book is about a whole host of black politicians who’ve gained office in the last decade, right? Including Deval Patrick (governor of Massachusetts) and Cory Booker (mayor of Newark, NJ).
Obama’s ultimate victory or defeat is pretty moot, as the book’s central theme is the rise of young black candidates in local, statewide and national races, most notably Obama’s historic triumph in the Democratic primaries. If the book was called “President Obama – A Man For All Time”, then I think you would have a point.
Chapter 1,048 in how the McCain campaign will manufacture any outrage to cover their own inadequacies:
“Ifill’s book was no secret”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20081001/pl_politico/22742
Why didn’t she disclose the book to the debate committee? That really made this look even worse.
I don’t know, Howard. Maybe because she’s not moderating a debate with Obama in it. Maybe she wasn’t asked.
Yes BP: (I’m a lawyer. If I go into a courtroom to do my job, I advocate for my client zealously regardless of whether I personally agree with the client or the position I’m advocating. That’s my job.)
However, if you were to go into that same courtroom with the same client, and your own financial interests would be advanced by an adverse decision for your client, you would be in violation of your professional ethical standards to appear in that case.
Nothing will look worse on that stage tonight than the spectre of Gov. Palin attempting to answer basic questions. To call her a cipher is an insult to ciphers.
BP: (I don’t know, Howard. Maybe because she’s not moderating a debate with Obama in it. Maybe she wasn’t asked.)
Well, so much for her impartiality and journalistc integrity!
@Facts Plz – unless a disinterested lawyer would believe that the representation of the client will not be adversely affected thereby and the client consents to the representation after full disclosure of the implications of the lawyer’s interest.
But BP bottom line is if someone stands to gain financially from the elections outcome then that person should not be moderator. With so many people to choose from why even risk the appearance of bias based upon financial gain. There is no need to do so there are simply too many other qualified journalists to choose from that would be above reproach.
Humanist I realize her book is about more than obama, i also realize the with out Obama’s election the central premise of her book is gone along with the sales of said book.
Gee….one would think that, given all of Gwen Ifill’s overt Mau-Mauism and obvious pro-Obama bias, the McCain camp would surely have vetted and rejected her as moderator back in August, if only they were given the opportunity…
Oh, wait a minute….they were given the opportunity. And they approved. As did McCain, right up until this morning. Apparently, he was for Ifill before he was against her.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20081002/pl_politico/14207
First, the vetting disaster with Palin and now this…McCain’s campaign is lazier than Billy Joe Hobert on a rainy Sunday.
To paraphrase my original comment, Ifill obviously has a vested interest in Obama winning, otherwise she wouldn’t have scheduled her book to release for sale on January 20, 2009.
@Sally – how so? How do you presume that an Obama loss has any impact on the sociopolitical issues she’s writing about? Are you also going back into time to reverse Governor Patrick’s election and Mayor Booker’s? Are you and Doc Brown revving up the DeLorean to 2000 to convince Governor George Bush not to select Colin Powell as his Secretary of State?
The book, as far as Ms. Ifill explains it, will have more to do with Obama’s stunning and historic victory in the Democratic primaries. Like it or not, that is a legitimate topic for a seasoned and impartial journalist to explore in book form.
@Mike in WNY – she didn’t set her book release date….her publisher did.
BP: And so we come back around to GIfill: (”after full disclosure of the implications”)
While some may believe the Debates are just sound bytes, I am sure there are many who will make their decisions based on the performances of the debaters. Perception is Reality. Since the Debates have a significance they do matter. Because they matter, the neutrality (both perceived and in fact) of the Moderator is a prerequisite. NON negotiable.
As the Moderator it was Ifill’s obligation to disclose the book, its issuance date and implications. She did none of the above.
Also, one of the statements I read about the book is that it will examine black politicians essentially “through the lens” (my phrase) of the stunning Obama campaign.
Really BP, “appearance of impropriety” and avoidance thereof, right?
This is par for the course for the McCain campaign….they know full well what a disaster Palin will be tonight, so they have ramped up the Outrage Manufacturer to 11 to put the pressure on Gwen Ifill to take it easy on poor Gov. Mooseburger, lest she (Ifill) be proven to have that evil, Mau-Mau bias for Obama. What a bunch of whiny-ass titty babies.
This is hysterical:
http://www.236.com/news/2008/10/01/debate_training_biden_learns_w_1_9211.php
The book’s central premise is “Breakthrough” – that’s the title. Is there any question that Barack Obama has made a breakthrough by becoming the first black major-party nominee? Ifill will now stand to gain financially by virtue of the fact that you and I know this book exists. She will gain financially from it regardless of whether Obama wins or loses, and no one has provided me with a concrete reason why her gain would somehow be more if Obama wins versus if Obama loses.
And it’s not an Obama book. It’s a book about black politicians in general.
Humanist, I think the frustration of the conservatives is more about the power of the Invisible Hand of the 4th Estate.
By that I mean the very real liberal bias in the mainstream media and the corresponding nuanced, subtextual and editorial bias that forms and shapes the messages of the “news”. That messaged news is manufactured for the consumption of the critically uninformed and easily manipulated masses. It creates GroupThink and a critical mass of “BELIEF” that has no basis in reality. (Unlike Memes BP, which can be true/accurate despite their virulent transmission and growth.)
Because of the power of this resource, conservatives are justified in their objections. IF we do not ‘rage against the machine’ who will?
BP: (”And it’s not an Obama book. It’s a book about black politicians in general.”)
With Obama as the standard and the focus and the ever overarching point of reference.
Liberal bias in the media. Good one.
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA.
@The Humanist
How do you know this? It is common for authors to negotiate the release date into the publishing contract. Especially for time-sensitive or event related books.
@ Facts Plz – “very real liberal bias in the mainstream media”
And that would be found…..where, exactly?
Fox News and its endless cavalcade of right-wing commentators?
MSNBC, with Pat Buchanan, Joe Scarborough, Sara Taylor, Tom Delay on “Hardball”, etc.?
CNN with Alex Castellanos, Ed Rollins, Lou Dobbs, Monica Crowley,
Headline News with its newest star, Glenn Beck?
The Drudge Report?
Rush Limbaugh and the hundreds of other right-wing buffoons who dominate talk radio?
Prominent, influential conservative bloggers like Michelle Malkin, John Hinderaker and Andrew Sullivan?
World Net Daily?
The Washington Times?
The New York Post?
The Pittsburgh Tribune?
The Chicago Tribune?
The Wall Street Journal?
George Will, Cal Thomas, Kathleen Parker, Charles Krauthammer and the dozens of other conservative op-ed writers carried in newspapers across the land daily?
Conservatives complaining about a so-called “liberal” bias in the media is like Americans railing about the threat from polio in this modern time. There is no “liberal” or “conservative bias” in most media (save the overtly right wing variety)…it’s a a corporate that reigns supreme. When your news is brought to you by a conglomeration of narrow corporate interests (GE, Westinghouse, Viacom, Disney, Clear Channel, etc), it has a definite slant on it, but it’s not political.
Even if her publisher did pick the date, that doesn’t negate her vested interest, it only increases it.
Corporations lobby politicians for favorable regulations, they most certainly do have a bias.
@Mike in WNY – Okay…I’ll wait for your evidence that Ms. Ifill demanded the Jan. 20th release date to contradict her own words that it was the publisher, not her, who selected Inauguration Day as the release date.