Katie Couric: I Got Help Before My Sarah Palin Interviews
by Peter Kafka
Posted on November 12, 2008 at 4:43 PM PT
So who said what at Quadrangle’s Foursquare conference, and was any of it interesting?
You got me. The media and tech confab is off the record. And so far, the members of the fourth estate who attended the event yesterday seem to be keeping their mouths shut.
But I did talk briefly with an attendee, who told me that the most interesting panel was the one that Portfolio’s Matt Cooper conducted this afternoon with television personalities Katie Couric, Brian Williams and George Stephanopoulos.
That would be an interesting group under any circumstance, but even more so since Couric’s interview of Republican VP candidate and Alaska governor Sarah Palin for CBS (CBS) is now considered to be a turning point in the 2008 election.
And while Couric hasn’t talked publicly about the interviews yet, she apparently did dish a bit today, according to a source who talked to Portfolio.com’s Jeff Bercovici:
Couric shed some light on her preparation for the interviews: Beforehand, she sought advice from former senator Sam Nunn and Council on Foreign Relations president Richard Haas. They told her to draw Palin out on her geopolitical worldview and urged her to let the governor speak at length without interrupting her. Maybe she should bring them along with her when she takes over at Meet the Press?”
UPDATE: Bercovici’s report has been pulled. Details here.
One newsworthy item not covered in Bercovici’s account: After the event, Couric gave Twitter correspondent MC Hammer a smooch, which was apparently well-received.
Comments
Choosing Palin in the first place was a bigger turning point in the election – maybe. But only if McCain had had a chance to start with. It’s beginning to look a lot like he never did.
Looks like her trial balloon about running for president in 2012 was shot down faster than a Roswell coverup.
I miss the old journalists who had integrity. That triumvirate should be given special darts in Colombia Journalism review for participating in this closed meeting.
Posted by Eric Welch at November 13th, 2008 at 9:03 amYou’ve missed the point Eric, McCain did have a chance, hell he was up in the polls, after the DNC and the Palin pick. He could have stayed there, if the campaign had been run correctly. This is not to say that it would have been easy.
I would agree it would be one of the most difficult ever run against the Obamachine and it’s $600 million war chest. But alas, Rick Davis and Co. proved not to be worthy of the ability to pull it together. Davis and Co. missed the boat in understanding what Palin could actually do for them and they mismanaged her.
More importantly, they mismanaged “the message” and “the top of the ticket” even worse. But still, to finish behind the Obamachine by only 6.7% in the popular vote, that was quit remarkable in itself.
Posted by Henry Morgan at November 13th, 2008 at 2:08 pm