If you talk with candidates for local offices, you know that the Courier-Journal endorsement interview is a pretty big deal. It’s always been kind of a secretive process between candidates and board members. Sometimes candidates are interviewed alone, and other times with their opponents present.
You can argue all you want about whether or not the C-J endorsement is important, but the fact is that candidates covet it and often use it in their campaigns. For many, sitting around a conference table in front of seven strangers and answering questions is nerve-racking. The C-J normally publishes its endorsements the week before voters go to the polls.
The candidates must come to the interview alone — no flacks, aides or advisors.
As revealing as it is to have the opportunity to see candidates on video, media watchers might be just as interested in seeing the members of the editorial board perform. It marks the first actual public appearance of Arnold Garson, the recently named publisher. Other members of the board are David Hawpe, Betty Winston Baye, Pam Platt, Steve Ford, Bennie Ivory and Keith Runyon.
“I think it’s an indication of how the Internet has opened journalism up to everyone,” said the C-J’s Multimedia Manager, John Mura. “Anyone who wants to see how the candidates answer or evade questions can.”
So today, I joined about 30 other folks watching the interview online live from the C-J building downtown. Both candidates for Kentucky’s Supreme Court, Lisabeth Hughes Abramson and Jim Shake, handle themselves well and seem to be well-informed on judicial issues. They don’t disagree on much, and judges can’t espouse positions on issues, so the choice is a tough one for voters, based on this video.
Voters who want to be well-informed should watch the videos, which I hope the C-J will continue to air live. Here’s a link to the video page of the Shake-Abramson interview. And here’s one to Bruce Lunsford’s appearance yesterday.
Mura says the schedule is evolving, and that most of the major race interviews will be available on video.
1 response so far ↓
1 Paul Hosse // Oct 8, 2008 at 7:13 am
Well, I glad to see the fianlly C/J open up. I’ve been writing for years, through the Letters to the Editor, LEO, and my own political blog site, Another Opinion, demanding that the C/J make their interviews public.
I’ve been through the process. It’s not nerve racking. If you’re a Republican or a conservatvie, you know it’s a waste of time. If you’re a Democrat and a liberal, you’ve got it in the bag. Most candidates over my 30 years in politics tell me it’s a done deal before you ever walk into the building. Having been there, I have little doubt it’s true.
I have long thought, and still do, that the media should stay out of trying to influence elections. They should simply report the facts and let the public make up their mind. In the case of the C/J, print who asked the questions and their political affilation (there’s usually only three people present, not seven). List the questions and each candidate’s response. Print it. That’s it. I think the people of Jefferson County are smart enough to do the rest.
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