Martha Raddatz Moderates A Panel On The Presidency And The Press With Michael Beschloss, David Gergen And Joe Lockhart

Transcript available here

On Wednesday, November 12, 2008, Martha Raddatz of ABC News moderated a discussion on the relationship between the presidency and the press with Michael Beschloss, David Gergen and Joe Lockhart.  The panel was sponsored by the Media Law Resource Center (MLRC) and was part of the organization’s 28th annual dinner celebration.  It took place at the Grand Hyatt in New York.

The US presidential election generated a public dialogue about the presidency that lasted over a year and culminated last week with the election of Barack Obama.  The MLRC Dinner panel continued that dialogue and addressed a specific aspect of the presidency: the relationship between presidents and the press.  The panel explored how past administrations have balanced the First Amendment interests of the press with the interests of the state, and whether the two institutions are naturally in opposition to each other.

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Martha Raddatz is the Chief White House Correspondent for ABC News and the author of The Long Road Home: A Story of War and Family, which provides a detailed account of the March 2004 ambush of  US troops in Sadr City, Iraq, from the eyes of the soldiers on the ground and the families back home.

Michael Beschloss is the author of nine books on American presidents.  He also serves as NBC News’ Presidential Historian, the first person to hold such a position at a national network, and is a commentator on PBS’s “The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer” and a contributing editor of Newsweek.  

David Gergen has worked in the administrations of four presidents, serving both political parties.   He recounted his experiences in a book, Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership, Nixon to Clinton.  David is currently a professor of public service and director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School.  He is also a Senior Political Analyst for CNN.

Joe Lockhart served as White House Press Secretary under the Clinton administration from 1998 to 2000. He is currently the President of The Glover Park Group, a consulting firm that specializes in media relations and political strategy. 

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MLRC is a non-profit membership organization founded in 1980 by leading American media to provide a wide range of information and support on media law and policy issues, including news and analysis of legal developments, litigation resources and practice guides, and national and international media law meetings and conferences.  MLRC also works with its membership on responding to legislative and policy proposals and in promoting First Amendment and free expression rights.