Four Political Journalists Will Visit Oct. 23 to Share the Inside Scoop on Election Coverage

Betsy Fischer Martin.

CHESTERTOWN, MD—The news media have always played a huge part in the electoral process, but today’s continuous feed puts unprecedented pressure on candidates, reporters, and voters alike. With the days until the presidential vote dwindling, several journalists who work at the heart of that maelstrom will take a momentary breather to visit Washington College and share some of their inside stories and first-hand perspectives. 

“The Anatomy of an Election: Media” is the finale of a four-part series on the 2012 presidential election hosted by the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience and the Louis L. Goldstein Program in Public Affairs. The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 23, in Hynson Lounge, Hodson Hall, on the Washington College campus. 

Appearing on the panel will be four journalists with extensive experience in both traditional and new media: 

 Betsy Fischer Martin has been with “Meet The Press,” NBC’s top-rated Sunday morning public affairs program and the longest running television program in the world, for 21 years, including 10 as Executive Producer. She has worked on the network’s coverage of the 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2012 elections, and has received numerous awards, including two Emmys and the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Political Journalism. 

James Hohmann.

James Hohmann, author of the daily online news feed Morning Score, is a national political correspondent for Politico and previously served as a reporter for the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. He is at work on a book about the 1976 election and the political ascendancy of Ronald Reagan. 

Jonathan Martin.

Jonathan Martin is a correspondent for the online journal Politico, where he has covered the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections. In the past six years he has been to about 30 states covering elections. He previously covered politics for The National Review and The Hotline. 

Jack Bohrer '06.

Jack Bohrer, who will serve as moderator, has written about politics for The New Republic, Politico, Salon, and other publications, and is completing a book about Robert F. Kennedy under contract with Bloomsbury Press. A 2006 graduate of Washington College, he majored in Political Science and was a student associate at the Starr Center.

With just two weeks left until the final presidential vote, the guests will discuss the campaign endgame and answer questions from the audience about the 2012 election. Their discussion will also cover the rapidly changing media universe and its effect on electoral politics. 

Bohrer, who has been tweeting about politics for three years, says that both journalists and candidates are trying hard to keep on top of rapid shifts in electronic media and forecast the future as best they can. “Blogs were the 2004 and 2008 campaigns, and Twitter is this one,” he says. “If the blogging cycle is anything to judge by, Twitter has another election cycle to go.”

Fischer Martin adds that over the course of her two-decade career, she has seen the news cycle shift “from slow and via fax (1992) to quick and via web and email (2004/2008) to warp speed via Twitter.”

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Founded in 1782 under the patronage of George Washington, Washington College is a private, independent college of liberal arts and sciences located in colonial Chestertown on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. For more information, www.washcoll.edu.

The College’s C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience is dedicated to fostering innovative approaches to the American past and present. Through educational programs, scholarship and public outreach, and a special focus on written history, the Starr Center seeks to bridge the divide between the academic world and the public at large. For more information on the Center, visit http://starrcenter.washcoll.edu.

The Louis L. Goldstein Program in Public Affairs was established at the College in 1990 to encourage students to enter public service by introducing them to exemplary leaders, both in and out of government. The Goldstein Program sponsors lectures, symposia and visiting fellows, student participation in models and conferences, and other projects that bring students and faculty together with leaders experienced in developing public policy. For more information, visit http://academics.washcoll.edu/goldsteinprogram/.