PBS Newscaster Offers Inside Look at Washington
Monday, December 06, 2010
PBS newscaster Gwen Ifill offered a sweeping look at the current state of politics and journalism in Washington, DC, in a keynote address at the national conference of the Council of State Governments yesterday, which was held at the Rhode Island Convention Center.
Ifill, who is managing editor and moderator of Newsweek on PBC, asserted that things are not as bad in Washington as they might seem—a claim that mostly rested on her observation that in the wake of the 2008 election, Americans seem willing to openly discuss race. Ifill is also the author of the 2009 book, The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama.
“Erasing race serves no purpose—it’s part of who we are,” Ifill said. Asked by someone in the audience how that could be reconciled with Martin Luther King’s emphasis on judging people by the content of their character, Ifill responded: “He never said, ‘I want you to be color blind.’ In fact that would mean blindness. The key … is not holding it against you.”
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Despite the bad news that has dogged President Obama—most recently the GOP gains in the House—Ifill doubted that he would face a challenge in the 2012 primary. “I have to figure out who that would be,” Ifill said. While some have mentioned Hillary Clinton as a possible contender, Ifill said the nation’s top diplomat has made it clear in every possible way that she has no intent of running. “I’m not quite sure who else out there lying in wait,” Ifill said.
She also predicted that the Tea Party could remain a force to be reckoned with. “I wouldn’t rule it out as a force that is going to determine who is going to be elected and who is going to be nominated,” Ifill said.
Defends … and criticizes media
Ifill dwelled on the role of the media in Washington politics, criticizing journalists for obsessing with sensational stories like the Florida pastor who threatened to burn the Koran and what she described as the fake controversy over the TSA pat-downs.
But she also defended the traditional media against blogs and alternative news sources, like Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart. “We would not know what happened over at Walter Reed (Army Medical Center) if it had not been for the Washington Post deciding to go out and reporters spend weeks and months trying to get that story,” Ifill said. “We wouldn’t have found that by bloggers. We wouldn’t have found it out on Facebook. We wouldn’t have found it out on Fox News.”
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