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Paul Waldman and Kathleen Hall Jamieson discuss their new book, The Press Effect: Politicians, Journalists, and the Stories that Shape the Political World. The event took place last night at the Penn Bookstore. [Allyson Mariani/The Daily Penns

Kathleen Hall Jamieson discounted the view the Supreme Court handed George Bush the 2000 election last night, instead telling students at a Penn Bookstore event that the GOP won over the media, and thus secured victory.

With only three students in attendance, Jamieson, dean of the Annenberg School for Communication, and Annenberg Public Policy Center Associate Director Paul Waldman spoke of that election and their book on the shifting role of the media, entitled The Press Effect: Politicians, Journalists, and the Stories that Shape the Political World.

The event was advertised as a public book signing at the bookstore, but the two authors abandoned the original format in exchange for a more intimate, Socratic-style discussion in response to the low numbers.

The book, which was finished six months ago, is currently being "read by reviewers as a rebuttal of the liberal/conservative hypothesis of the media," Jamieson said.

However, Jamieson and Waldman focused their comments on the power and possible misuse of the media.

"It's really easy to say the conservative court handed [President George W.] Bush the [2000] election," Jamieson said. But The Press Effect proposes that, in fact, the "Republican spin was successful" in winning over the media, and that the court's decision merely reflected that stance.

Jamieson admitted this view is initially counterintuitive, but said the book substantiates the concept by detailing the types of media influence.

The authors delineated the idea of media roles and postures. Instead of associating the media with a partisan bias, Jamieson and Waldman discussed how the media sometimes takes on a "watchdog" or "cynical" view, among others.

This position explains, they said, the shifting presentation of Bush in the media. During the 2000 election season, reporters were focused, as Waldman explained while making air quotations, "on figuring out who [the candidate] really is."

Amidst the cynicism of the election season, this brought about a portrayal of Bush as inarticulate and unintelligent. But following last year's terrorist attacks, that characterization changed.

Jamieson described an excerpt from one of Bush's more recent speeches that was praised by The New York Times.

"The passage was garble... as inarticulate as ever," Jamieson said.

The Press Effect attributes this perception shift entirely to the media, not to a candidate who has grown within his role.

Yet neither Jamieson nor Waldman mean for the book to be seen as simply a media critique. "It's because the media is so important in a democracy" that it requires analysis, Waldman said.

The authors' efforts have been met with "favorable reviews," according to Waldman, and attendees reflected this positive take on the book.

College sophomore Krysta Hill, who is currently enrolled in Jamieson's "Political Communication" class, called the author "the most incredible professor I've ever had in my entire life."

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