New York Times reporters share Election 2000 insights

Sometimes even The New York Times makes mistakes. This was a recurring theme yesterday afternoon in a panel discussion that addressed newspaper coverage of the turbulant 2000 presidential election. "I don't know whether or not we got it all right," New York Times National Correspondent B. Drummond Ayres said. "There were times when I felt we were reaching too hard." The panel discussion, moderated by Annenberg School for Communication Dean Kathleen Hall Jamieson, drew a huge crowd to Houston Hall's Bodek Lounge. Over 250 people filled all available seating options, including the floor, tables and windowsills. The large attendance startled even the two panel members. "I had no idea so many people would want to listen to reporters talk," Times Metro reporter Somini Sengupta said. "Frankly, I'm gratified. A lot of people are under the impression that young people don't read newspapers. This proves them wrong." Ayres and Sengupta spoke for an hour about their experiences covering the 36-day standoff that followed Election Day 2000. The event was part of the Provost's Lecture Series. Sengupta, who admitted that she usually does not cover politics, was sent to Tallahassee in November to join half the country's journalists in pursuit of new stories, daily. "We had to think about what extra we could bring to the story," Sengupta said. "How could you, as a newspaper reporter, exploit your own medium better?" A major criticism of media election coverage is the convention of calling exit polls before they are closed, according to experts. Early in the discussion both reporters admitted that all journalists must amend the problem. "I think, in the end, something good will come out of this," Ayres said. "It really was a disaster waiting to happen." Jamieson broached the subject of sexist dialogue in the press surrounding Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, while the audience further explored the issue with their questions. Sengupta called it "outrageous" that the press would create a dialogue centered on how Harris dressed, carried herself and applied her makeup. Students left the forum with mixed reactions about what they had heard. Overall, most agreed that it had been an interesting and accurate display of the facts. "I thought it was excellent," College sophomore Matt Butler said. "I could tell that they were experienced journalists because they didn't reveal their personal feelings on any decisive issues." But some felt that the discussion was limited. "The premise was interesting, but I thought the moderation could have been more tolerant of the questions being asked," College junior Erin Phalon said. "It impeded the flow of the reporters' answers." Others were displeased with the reporters' responses to audience questions. "Both were pompous in their style," College junior Jordan Burg said. "I was a little disturbed by their lack of accountability, but I wasn't surprised." The forum provided the kind of discourse on journalism that Jamieson says she finds helpful to society. "I think that the questions focused on important issues," Jamieson said. "They suggested that a paper like The New York Times needs to step back during the process and do it a little better."