Reporters speak on campaign

Perot hasn't got a chance, according to media representatives at last night's open forum, "The Inside Scoop." A panel, including Morton Dean of ABC News, Don Baer of U.S. News and World Report, Steve Holmes of The New York Times, Bill Turque of Newsweek and Bob Metzenheimer of USA Today, answered questions about the upcoming presidential election and the role of the media. Frank Luntz, adjuct assistant American civilization professor, moderated the panel. The panel agreed that independent presidential candidate Ross Perot would probably win fewer than ten percent of the electoral vote. Turque warned, however, that Perot may have an effect to the election. "I don't think anyone knows for sure what his impact on this election will be," Turque said last night. "I don't think he is completely irrelevant. But when it's all said and done, I don't think he'll even be a spoiler." Luntz asked the panel about Perot's relationship with the media and was answered with a round of laughs. "My relationship with Perot started out bad and got worse," Holmes said. "People say they have a love/hate relationship with the press. Well, with Perot I've only seen the hate." The panel spent significantly less time discussing Clinton and Bush and turned more readily to the issue of media power. "I think there's a tendency to believe that since we're on television or have our names in print, that we know everything," Dean said. Undergraduate Assembly member David Rose said that he felt the panel underestimated their role in influencing public opinion. "I think they down-played the media in shaping the perceptions that form political opinions," Rose said. "I think the media does exactly just that." The panel was hosted by the Undergraduate Assembly, the Penn Political Union and Connaissance.