Thursday, September 25, 2008

Seigenthalers to discuss media ethics

It looks like tomorrow’s debate at Ole Miss will proceed as scheduled, as will a discussion headed by Tennessean publisher emeritus John Seigenthaler and son John Seigenthaler Jr. The two will discuss ethics and the media’s coverage of the election at Belmont Friday morning.

Seigenthaler, who covered the John F. Kennedy campaign in 1960 before going to work for the Kennedy administration, said he expects to discuss both the topics covered so far to the coverage itself, especially on the Internet.

“Our most recent poll showed that 17 percent of the public says they get most of their news from online … and in the 18-35 group I’m sure it’s going to be significantly higher than that,” Seigenthaler said. “The emergence of young voters in this election, I think, is a direct result of their online communication.”

The actual turnout of those young voters, Seigenthaler said, hinges on Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s appeal to first-time voters and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s ability to mobilize young evangelicals.

The talk, which is free and open to the public, begins at 10 a.m. in the Frist Lecture Hall on the fourth floor of the Gordon E. Inman Center. Seigenthaler will later be at Shamblin Theatre at Lipscomb University for the school’s Ole Miss debate watch party.

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