The Long(er) and Winding Road

(Photo: Jeff Isaacs/AP)

In a few weeks, the primary elections & caucuses are finally going to start. Earlier this month, John King moderated a panel discussion about the 2008 presidential election at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The panel included: Jake Tapper of ABC News, Susan Page of USA Today, Derek McGinty of WUSA-TV, Ron Fournier of The AP, Norah O'Donnell of NBC News and Jonathan Martin of Politico.

The December 10th issue of NPC's Record contained an article by Lorna Aldrich about the event that stated:

The animated discussion illustrated an opening comment by Jake Tapper of ABC News that the panelists were possibly the “only group of Americans not upset about how long it [the campaign] is taking.” Despite an effort by King, the discussion skirted issues such as health care and immigration. However, panelists had more to say on technology and the media. Jonathan Martin of Politico.com noted that now “News comes as it comes,” not at 6:30 p.m. or in the morning newspaper. Ron Fournier of AP added that, with so much information, people are looking for a “referee.” Six referee candidates flanked King on the podium.

About 250 people filled the National Press Club’s ballroom in Washington for a roundtable designed to be a candid conversation, the kind you might overhear if “we were all on the [campaign] bus together,” explained moderator John King from CNN. The panelists included Ron Fournier from the Associated Press, Jonathan Martin from Politico, Derek McGinty from WUSA-TV in Washington, Norah O'Donnell from NBC News, Susan Page from USA Today and Jake Tapper from ABC News.

The Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA), the association for electronic journalist, co-hosted the event and posted this on their website:

(Photo: John Milewski, Newseum)

The event, “The Long(er) and Winding Road to the White House: Covering the Race to the 2008 Presidential Election,” was co-hosted by RTNDA, the Associated Press, the Newseum and the National Press Club. The panelists addressed everything from the battle of the surrogates (Oprah stumping for Obama, Bill stumping for Hillary) to what states may be in play that haven’t been before. They also debated potential running-mate pairs and the non-front-runners who could charge ahead.

The event was broadcast on XM Satellite Radio and the podcast is available for download from NPC's website. You can also listen to it here:

C-SPAN broadcast the discussion live and has posted the full program on their website:(requires RealPlayer):

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In last weekend's edition of USA Weekend.com Who's News, a reader asked the following question about Campbell Brown:

Q: What happened to Campbell Brown, who used to be on NBC's weekend "Today" show?

P. Art, Crittenden, Ky.

Brown left NBC for CNN. She is now planning for two major events: a baby boy due Christmas Day and a show of her own on CNN, to begin in February. "I feel pretty Zen," Campbell, 39, tells us about juggling pregnancy and the new show. "They balance each other out." To help with any new-mom anxiety, she will rely on her mom, who will stay with Brown and her husband, Dan Senor, a Fox News analyst, after the baby is born.

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Mystery Journalist

The mystery journalist this week was CNN Headline New anchor, Erica Hill.