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Articles by Liz Cox Barrett | Email the Author

 

1. The Kicker

   Peer Review (In Defense of ABC’s Debate)

   April 22, 2008 09:43 AM

   Veteran New York Times political reporter Adam Nagourney takes a stab at defending Charlie Gibson's and George Stephanopoulos' handling of last week's ABC-sponsored Democratic debate in an online column headlined, "What Should Be The Purpose of a Presidential... Continue reading

2. The Kicker

   The Luck of the Amish

   April 22, 2008 09:21 AM

   Frequent MSNBC guest talking head, Mike Barnacle, was discussing the Democratic primary on Morning Joe just now and mentioned that he thinks "the luckiest people in the world right now are the Amish. They don't have TVs." And therefore... Continue reading

3. The Kicker

   Preaching to Their Choirs

   April 22, 2008 08:27 AM

   On the eve of the Pennsylvania primary, Senators Clinton and Obama each spoke via satellite to what conventional wisdom calls their respective key audiences: Clinton appeared -- in between ads for calcium pills -- on CNN's Larry King Live;... Continue reading

4. The Kicker

   Why, Wolf, Why?

   April 21, 2008 04:01 PM

   What is Wolf Blitzer "watching very closely" in the Situation Room right now? Well, according to his opening tease, he will "ask [Terry McAuliffe] how he expects his candidate [Clinton] will do” in the Pennsylvania primary. Why, Wolf, Why? Can't... Continue reading

5. The Kicker

   Ignoring Stengel, PA Papers Endorse

   April 21, 2008 02:55 PM

   Sorry, Time magazine's Richard Stengel: newspaper endorsements are alive and well in Pennsylvania. "Obama Sweeps Newspaper Endorsements," reports The Nation today (Pennsylvania's "largest newspapers are urging voters to consider Barack Obama;" and Obama "has gained the lion's share... Continue reading

6. The Kicker

   The “What If” Story Gone Wild

   April 21, 2008 01:35 PM

   Was anyone else puzzled by that "Gore-Lieberman" piece by John M. Broder in yesterday's New York Times "Week In Review"? Yes, the campaign press loves its "what if" stories. But typically they're at least musing -- however speculatively... Continue reading

7. The Kicker

   Cable, Try A Little Earnestness

   April 21, 2008 12:18 PM

   MSNBC, you want to catch the ear of a multi-tasking, half-listening cable TV viewer? Forget the shouting kitschy overkill of, say, your "MONSTER SUPER TUESDAY" ad. Instead, try a little earnestness. For example, I just -- automatic reaction --... Continue reading

8. The Kicker

   Lauren Conrad, Hallmark of News Media “Relevance”

   April 21, 2008 10:52 AM

   Apparently it's not enough to employ a "celebrity" news anchor or columnist. You must also seat your celebrity news anchor or columnist next to an actual Hollywood celebrity (C-list will do) at Fête-The-Press-Inside-The-Beltway functions. Why? In order to "seem... Continue reading

9. The Kicker

   Counting the “Ha!’s” in a Matthews Interview

   April 21, 2008 10:21 AM

   How many "Ha!'s" might Chris Matthews let out during the course of a 10-question interview? I counted eight in Matthews' Q&A with the Philadelphia Inquirer's Jonathan Storm (perhaps some were edited out)? When asked why, at age 62... Continue reading

10. The Kicker

    TV News Driven By “Mentally Ill Martinets”

    April 21, 2008 09:43 AM

    Virginia Heffernan profiles the Onion News Network, "a video series produced by the Onion fake-news empire:" The false news stories manage to seem plausible in a dangerous, “War of the Worlds” way, coming across as... Continue reading

11. The Kicker

    Victoria Clarke on “Service to the Media”

    April 21, 2008 09:09 AM

    Given Victoria Clarke's role in creating and carrying out that "military analysts as media Trojan horse" plan the New York Times described yesterday, I thought I'd link to this column Clarke wrote for the September/October 2002 issue of... Continue reading

12. The Kicker

    Rummy’s “Message Force Multipliers”

    April 21, 2008 08:19 AM

    And you thought this administration had done no post-Iraq-invasion planning? About those "military analysts" you've grown accustomed to seeing on cable and network TV, waxing authoritative on all things post-9/11: [A] Pentagon information apparatus...has used those analysts in... Continue reading

13. The Kicker

    Brooks Puts the “A” in ABC

    April 17, 2008 10:41 AM

    About last night: David Brooks, for one, thought "the questions were excellent" and gives ABC an "A," Clinton a "B" and Obama a "D+" for the debate. Continue reading

14. The Kicker

    A New Standard for Debate Questions?

    April 17, 2008 09:35 AM

    If you're hoping to quell any grumbling about revolving doors (and I'm not including myself in that grumbling) or if you're hoping that viewers won't recall that you -- ABC Newsman and moderator of last night's debate between Barack Obama... Continue reading

15. The Kicker

    On Debate, ABC Gets A “D”?

    April 17, 2008 08:06 AM

    Here's a choice bit from Tom Shales' Washington Post review of last night's ABC-sponsored Democratic debate, headlined, "In Pa. Debate, The Clear Loser Is ABC:" [A]nother step downward for network news -- in particular ABC News, which hosted the... Continue reading

16. The Kicker

    “The Most Startlingly Tabloid Debate” Yet

    April 16, 2008 09:56 PM

    Per Keith Olbermann on MSNBC, moments after the ABC-sponsored Democratic debate concluded just now. Maybe Olbermann's just peeved that ABC is restricting his use of clips? Actually, Olbermann's characterization sounds about right to me. It was pretty much... Continue reading

17. The Kicker

    The Bluest Collar

    April 16, 2008 12:17 PM

    Paul Waldman writes in The American Prospect: [Tim] Russert and [Chris] Matthews may be at the top of their profession's hierarchy, but their proletarian pose has become the standard affectation of the media elite... And: The contempt for the... Continue reading

18. The Kicker

    ABC’s Debate “Restrictions” Will Change…What?

    April 16, 2008 10:36 AM

    ABC, the sponsor of tonight's Democratic presidential debate, is circulating usage guidelines stating that ( per the New York Times) "other news organizations are only allowed to excerpt half a minute from the broadcast...That means choosing only one... Continue reading

19. The Kicker

    Breaking: “Drudge Rules The World!”

    April 16, 2008 10:09 AM

    What, no siren? No banner headline on Drudge linking to the New York Observer story today about "fake news" in which this tantalizing (I Rule!) bait beckons, courtesy of an unnamed political reporter? (Maybe it's old hat to Drudge... Continue reading

20. The Kicker

    In Sync

    April 16, 2008 09:29 AM

    Yesterday I wrote about how McCain seemed to go way out of his way in a speech Monday to flatter a press corps that he has already more than made nice with. The buttering up, apparently, continues. Not only... Continue reading

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