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Articles by Liz Cox Barrett | Email the Author

 

1. The Kicker

   Convention Report: I See Something!

   August 25, 2008 12:57 PM

   Wall-to-wall cable convention coverage. It can make even Chuck Todd (MSNBC's "goateed guru") look less-than-sharp. During a David Shuster report on Michelle Obama getting her bearings at the convention podium (or, "Michelle Obama Walks Through Pepsi Center Just Hours... Continue reading

2. The Kicker

   Not A Plug for Politico

   August 25, 2008 12:02 PM

   Last week, Vanity Fair polled hair stylists on Whether John McCain Has A Comb-Over ("from certain angles, it looks like a frozen waterfall, or maybe a clamp designed to keep his big angry head from bursting") and, if so,... Continue reading

3. The Kicker

   If You Build It…

   August 25, 2008 10:55 AM

   You want to attract some reporters? Hang up a sign that says "Spin Room" or "War Room" ("Where We Help You Write Your Story Room?" "Get Your He-Said Here Room?") The Associated Press's Andrew Taylor reports on the... Continue reading

4. The Kicker

   Conventions. Why?

   August 25, 2008 10:36 AM

   Why? Why, these conventions? Why 15,000 journalists at these conventions? What are we doing? What is this all about? This week is all about an Oprah Winfrey sighting. Thanks to MSNBC's Courtney Hazlett for clearing that up just now.... Continue reading

5. The Kicker

   Leave Your Leatherman in D.C.

   August 25, 2008 09:33 AM

   Just received the "List of Prohibited Items for Members of the Media" from the Republican National Convention. Among the items reporters may not bring "inside the security perimeter" in St. Paul: "weapons, knives (regardless of size)," "fireworks, explosives," "tasers, stun... Continue reading

6. The Kicker

   I Can’t Hear the Punditry!

   August 25, 2008 08:46 AM

   Must every cable channel bring us convention coverage from a jam-packed restaurant? What's the thinking here? "Authentic" backdrop complete with "Real People" (and fries)? I can barely hear Joe Scarborough -- no low-talker, he -- with all... Continue reading

7. The Kicker

   RunningOutofSteamStakes

   August 21, 2008 08:22 AM

   Gail Collins today on the Lieberman-could-be-McCain's-veep-choice buzz: When you have a 71-year-old presidential candidate, it’s particularly important that voters be confident that he’s backed up by an experienced and qualified vice president prepared to step in and do the... Continue reading

8. The Kicker

   Not By The Hair…

   August 21, 2008 08:17 AM

   ABC News noted (veep!) that Evan Bayh's wife had her hair done (stakes!). 23/6.com imagines an IM exchange between Obama veep hopefuls in which Kathleen Sebelius (IM handle, "SebeliusBizness") has some choice words about Evan Bayh's ("BayhCurious") coiffure.... Continue reading

9. The Kicker

   Rumors of Tubbs Jones’s Demise, Explained

   August 21, 2008 07:00 AM

   The Washington Post's Capitol Briefing blogger, Ben Pershing, explains how it was that he and several other news organizations reported yesterday afternoon that Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D, OH) was dead when (at that time) she was not:... Continue reading

10. The Kicker

    Who Cares? (And, About What?)

    August 20, 2008 03:22 PM

    Will Bunch on the press on the Edwards Affair: How is it that the Enquirer can assign a team of people to expose a presidential sex scandal, and a big newspaper or TV network can't? You probably... Continue reading

11. The Kicker

    Breaking News Breakdown

    August 20, 2008 02:36 PM

    CNN was reporting this afternoon on the "death of" Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D, OH) up until it carried live, around 2:30, a press conference at a Cleveland hospital during which a spokesperson referred to Tubbs Jones being "in critical... Continue reading

12. The Kicker

    Joe-mentum of Another Sort

    August 20, 2008 01:46 PM

    Kevin Drum and Jonathan Cohn are giving Joe Biden the Veep nod (could Obama be far behind)? Drum calls Biden "a good choice" and notes, "Big plus here — the press likes him, motormouth or not." I'd say,... Continue reading

13. The Kicker

    “Far From Fair and Balanced”

    August 20, 2008 11:21 AM

    Fox News will know its tag line has jumped the shark (or is that set the standard?) when Mikhail Gorbachev, the former president of the Soviet Union, invokes it in an op-ed in the New York Times criticizing "the... Continue reading

14. The Kicker

    AP: Alleged “Real People” To Appear at Convention!

    August 20, 2008 10:38 AM

    I'm all for reporters calling out the stagey aspects of campaigns and conventions. To that end (I think?), the AP's Nedra Pickler probes the Democratic National Convention and Obama campaign's controversial claims that "real people" "will appear" at the... Continue reading

15. The Kicker

    “CNN Grills” (Without Crossfire)

    August 20, 2008 10:09 AM

    According to CNN, CNN's "CNN Diner" at the 2004 Republican Convention in New York City was "immensely successful" and so this year they will do it again with a "CNN Grill" in Denver and in St. Paul. Campaign Desk <a... Continue reading

16. The Kicker

    Today in Speculation (Er, “Current Conjecture”)

    August 20, 2008 08:51 AM

    You think it's easy working the Veepstakes beat? Opening wide for -- and presenting as news -- those crumbs tossed out by the campaigns (Obama "will in all likelihood appear with his newly named running mate on Saturday in Springfield,... Continue reading

17. The Kicker

    What “Impresses” David Remnick

    August 14, 2008 10:27 AM

    "What always impresses me are the people who are obsessed. People who are gifted, perhaps, but people who are obsessed. And they can't even imagine themselves doing anything other than covering the political campaign or writing about the war in... Continue reading

18. The Kicker

    Reporters On Michelle Obama? “Rapt.” (Really?)

    August 14, 2008 08:59 AM

    For Radar's September issue (excerpt online), Ana Marie Cox explains how "the press corps" really feels about Michelle Obama: Michelle seems to have intrigued the press corps as much as her husband has, albeit in a less obvious way.... Continue reading

19. The Kicker

    Shafer’s Tips For Convention Coverage

    August 14, 2008 08:31 AM

    Jack Schafer bemoans the flock of "pressies" who descend on the typically newsless political conventions ("Slate, I'm embarrassed to admit, is sending a team of eight to Denver and six to St. Paul. Attention! Don Graham! We're spending your... Continue reading

20. The Kicker

    A “Rubber Slipper” By Any Other Name

    August 13, 2008 03:11 PM

    From today's Honolulu Star Bulletin: Sen. Barack Obama's campaign is keeping the candidate away from much of the typical Hawaiian vacation imagery -- hold the lei and aloha wear. It's a strategy that appears based on political reality,... Continue reading

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