Local media representatives met with UW-Madison students Wednesday evening to discuss the 2006 election coverage and the media's role in reporting candidates' issues.
Editor J.R. Ross and reporters Patrick Marley and Zac Schultz represented WisPolitics.com, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and NBC 15 News, respectively. Each gave their opinion on the media's responsibility to be objective and informative, yet spoke of the time and space restrictions faced by each news medium.
""Informing is always difficult, especially in our business because we just don't have the space,"" Schultz said.
He pointed out space and time as advantages that newspapers and blogs hold over broadcast news.
Having restrictions like these in mind, each representative emphasized the importance of taking information reported in the news into context, like in the case of public opinion and exit polls and election results that are called early.
According to Marley, ""[news sources call elections early] at their own peril."" The panel cited the closely contested attorney general race between J.B. Van Hollen and Kathleen Falk, in which some news sources incorrectly announced Falk as the winner.
The panel was also wary in reporting public opinion polls because it leads to horse-race politics. Polls are reported because they give information the voters want in the form of a cheat sheet, according to Schultz.
""[It's] something that feeds the beast for them,"" Ross added.
Negative advertisements were a hot topic during discussion because of the large role they played in this year's elections. Debate often arises around whether news sources should play a role in addressing falsehoods in negative ads, and panel members each held their separate opinion on how false information should be addressed.
""You have to pick and choose your battles because every ad has some version of the truth,"" Ross said.
The panel emphasized the change in the face of journalism and the aggressiveness taken in reporting. Ross spoke of the decrease in staff members, page space and dedication.
""You will never see another Watergate, not in your lifetimes, your children's lifetimes, ever again, because there is not that level of dedication,"" Ross said.
