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Mediamatters.Org - On the October 1 edition of Fox News' America's Newsroom, host Megyn Kelly
falsely suggested it was publicly revealed that PBS senior correspondent Gwen
Ifill is the author of the forthcoming book, The Breakthrough: Politics and
Race in the Age
of Obama (Doubleday), only
after it was announced she would moderate the October 2 vice presidential
debate. Kelly said: "Critics are asking how Ifill can pen such a glowing
review of Senator [Barack] Obama and still be fair during this debate. Ifill
has gone public recently talking about the book and how the path to influence
has changed for African-Americans." In fact, media outlets, including the
Associated
Press, reported that Ifill was the book's author well
before the August 21 announcement that she would moderate the debate.
Additionally, following an October
1 post
on her blog, in which
she asserted that "full disclosure to both [candidates] was necessary,"
Fox News host Greta Van Susteren wrote
in a second post that day:
I confirmed for us here on
GretaWire: the McCain campaign did NOT know about
Gwen Ifill's book (I think I told them when I made my efforts -- emails
about midnight -- to find out!) I am stunned ... the campaign (actually
both) should have been told before the campaign agreed to have her moderate. It
simply is not fair -- in law, this would create a mistrial [emphasis in
original].
However, in addition to ignoring the AP report citing
Ifill's book, published on July 21, Van Susteren did not note in either blog post that a
September 4 Washington Post profile of Ifill also mentioned that
she was working on The Breakthrough.
In an October 1 post
on his Politico blog, Michael
Calderone wrote of the Post
article: "Ifill discussed it [the book] with Howard Kurtz last month in
the Washington Post, in the only profile she's done before the debate. (And I'd
imagine someone in the campaign should have read it)."
Ifill's role as moderator of the October 2 vice
presidential debate was announced in an August 21 joint statement from the
Obama and McCain campaigns, which is posted on the McCain-Palin
website:
The two campaigns agreed today on a
framework for four General Election debates, to be sponsored by the Commission
on Presidential Debates. Key elements of the agreement are:
[...]
2. Vice
Presidential Debate
- Date: October 2nd
- Site: Washington University (St. Louis)
- Moderator: Gwen Ifill
- Staging/Answer Format: To be resolved after both parties' Vice Presidential nominees are selected.
Prior
to the joint announcement of the debate schedule and format, the July 21 AP
article -- which is also posted on FoxNews.com
-- identified Ifill as "author of 'The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in
the Age of Obama,' slated for publication early next year." Additionally, in a May 8 interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer -- portions of which were also quoted in a May 13 article in The Republican
of Springfield, Massachusetts --
Ifill discussed the book*:
Q: What do you do when you're not reporting or moderating?
A: Well, I am working on this book now, which is frankly taking
almost all of my waking hours when I'm not at work. The book is about an
emerging generation of black politicians - in fact, when I'm in town, I'll
probably talk to your mayor - including focusing on Barack Obama and
[Massachusetts Gov.] Deval Patrick and [Newark, N.J., Mayor] Corey Booker - and
trying to talk about what we see happening here, and I think there is something
fundamental shifting here, which is shifting before our eyes, that goes beyond
Barack Obama. It's my first book, so it's terrifying. But when I'm not working
all the time, I'm playing with my godchildren and going to movies and doing
things normal people do.
Below is a Doubleday description of Ifill's book:
In THE BREAKTHROUGH, veteran
journalist Gwen Ifill surveys the American political landscape, shedding new
light on the impact of Barack Obama's stunning presidential campaign and
introducing the emerging young African American politicians forging a bold new
path to political power.
Ifill argues that the Black
political structure formed during the Civil Rights movement is giving way to a
generation of men and women who are the direct beneficiaries of the struggles
of the 1960s. She offers incisive, detailed profiles of such prominent leaders
as Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, and U.S.
Congressman Artur Davis of Alabama,
and also covers up-and-coming figures from across the nation. Drawing on
interviews with power brokers like Senator Obama, former Secretary of State
Colin Powell, Vernon Jordan, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, and many others, as
well as her own razor-sharp observations and analysis of such issues as
generational conflict and the "black enough" conundrum, Ifill shows
why this is a pivotal moment in American history.
THE BREAKTHROUGH is a remarkable
look at contemporary politics and an essential foundation for understanding the
future of American democracy.
From the October 1 edition of Fox News' America's Newsroom:
KELLY: Also, this developing story
from the campaign trail this morning: The moderator for tomorrow night's
vice presidential debate is now under fire for a book she has written
that's set to hit bookstores on January 20, which just happens to be
Inauguration Day. PBS' Gwen Ifill, writing a book called, The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of
Obama. It focuses on Obama and other emerging African-American
leaders. Critics are asking how Ifill can pen such a glowing review of Senator
Obama and still be fair during this debate. Ifill has gone public recently
talking about the book and how the path to influence has changed for
African-Americans.
IFILL [video clip]: The title of the
book is The Breakthrough: Politics and Race
in the Age of Obama. It's taking the story of Barack Obama and
extending it to talk about a whole new generation of black politicians who are
doing very similar things in very different ways. They're younger,
they're more likely to get to power not by marching in marches, the way
their parents did, or by leading protests. They have decided to do it by
getting educations; basically walking through the doors that their parents
opened, then choosing public service in a different way.
KELLY: Well, the official promo for
the book calls Senator Obama a "power broker," calls his campaign
"stunning," and says this is a "pivotal moment in American
history." Fox News contributor Juan Williams knows Gwen Ifill well, and
he will join us live on this developing story, which is picking up a lot of
heat, in our next hour.
* Text
added to include the original May 8 Inquirer interview.
Media Matters - Fox News' Kelly falsely suggested Ifill's book about Obama was made "public" only after she was announced as debate moderator {...} On Fox News' America's Newsroom , Megyn Kelly falsely suggested it was publicly revealed that PBS' Gwen Ifill was the author of the forthcoming book, The Breakthrough , only after it was announced she would moderate the upcoming vice presidential debate. In fact, media outlets, including the Associated Press, reported that Ifill was the book's author well before the announcement. {...} Published: October 1, 2008, 8:19 pm - Indexed: October 2, 2008, 10:09 am - Page Size: 23KB |