Media and the Next Election

A Look Back, A Look Forward
Jeff Greenfield, Senior Political Analyst, CNN

March 15, 2007

7:30 p.m.
Hatlen Theater, UCSB
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Leading political analyst and TV commentator Jeff Greenfield will discuss lessons from past elections about the media’s role in presidential contests, and what to expect in 2008.

Mr. Jeff Greenfield will be a Center Industry Fellow and Visiting Professor during Winter quarter, 2007. He will offer two courses: Political Media in the United States - A Historical Survey, and A Seminar on Ethics in Politics.

Mr. Greenfield (B.A., University of Wisconsin; Law Degree, Yale Law School; Honorary Degree in Laws, Union College) is CNN's senior political analyst and a contributor to The Situation Room, American Morning and Paula Zahn Now.
His professional background includes:

Legislative fellow, Office of Sen. Robert Kennedy, 1967-68; Assistant to NYC Mayor John Lindsay, 1968-70; Political consultant, Garth Associates, Inc. 1970-76; Lecturer, Columbia Law School, 1970-75 (approximate); Media analyst, CBS News, 1980-83; Political and Media Analyst, ABC News, 1983-97; Senior Analyst, CNN, 1998-; Host, "CEO Exchange" PBS, 2000-02, 2005-; and Syndicated columnist, Universal Press, 1981-96.

His books include:
The Advance Man (with Jerry Bruno) (1971); A Populist Manifesto (with Jack Newfield) (1972); No Peace, No Place (1973); The World's Greatest Team (1975); Television: The First Fifty Years (1977); National Lampoon's Book of Books (1979); Playing to Win: An Insider's Guide to Politics (1980); The Real Campaign (1981); The People's Choice (1995); and Oh, Waiter: One Order of Crow (2001).

Mr. Greenfield has been writing magazine and newspaper articles for 40 year-plus, for Harpers, Esquire, The New York Times Magazine, New York Times Book Review, New York, Newsday, the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, National Lampoon, and many others.

He has won four “Emmys”, and the Quill Award for Meritorious Journalism.

For more biographical details, see
http://www.cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/greenfield.jeff.html

Political Media in the United States - A Historical Survey;
Comm 160PM; Film/Media 113PM, R 630-920pm, Buchanan 1940

From the birth of the Republic - even before, for that matter - office-seekers, political parties, and interest groups have used whatever media available to advance their causes and candidates. This course looks at the use (and abuse) of media from the Federalist Papers to the Web. A major premise of this course is that certain political themes appear again and again in political media, whatever the form, suggesting that the famous dictum of McLuhan's - "the medium is the message" - may not be entirely true. Instead, appeals rooted deep in American political tradition, such as The Outsider vs. the Establishment, fear of foreign influences, the Man of the People vs. The Elitists and The Privileged, are rooted in essential American myths.

A Seminar on Ethics in Politics;
Comm 160JG/PolSci 196 -- Ethics in Politics Seminar, T 600-850pm, Ellison 3814

This seminar will attempt to raise significant questions about ethics in politics through a quarter-long device - a fictional campaign in which ethical questions are posed to all the players, and in which the students will be asked - aka the famous Fred Friendly PBS roundtables - to role-play, as well as to engage in debates and inquiries about the ethical implications of their decisions. By turns, they may find themselves being asked to assume the role of candidate, campaign operative, journalist, partisan, and undecided citizen.

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