(2003-11-24) Debate Spin Alley

Jay Rosen on the Spin Alley following Presidential Election debates.

Dan Gillmor broadens the Framing: Here's the larger problem: Spin Alley isn't only a political thing. To a fearsome degree we live in Spin Alley, all of us, all the time... Call it Advertising. Call it PR. Call it helpful quotes from political operatives after content-free debates. It's all of a kind. We are all being spun, on just about every matter that arises in our lives.

Sometimes I feel like journalists are like those tourists pressed up against the glass studio wall at the Today Show (or whatever it is) - they need to wave their arms and "be seen".

Here's another Framing: why do we have debates?

• to try and see/hear a real unscripted Human Voice. I think we can agree you get very little of this. Except when people make gaffes, which are then usually blown up out of proportion. In other words, you never get positive Human Voice, only the avoidance of error.

• to try and pin down candidates on specific positions on specific issues. Again, rarely done well. And why do the Big Media do such a crummy job at interpreting this all throughout the campaign? They should be willing to say "Bush seems to favor ..." and if called on it ("hey we never said that") then they can respond, "well then are you in favor of A or B?" Or they can collaborate on something like the Vote Smart survey (the Online Media arms should definitely be pushing on this because it's an ongoing improving reference piece).