News Cut: June 24, 2008 Archive

Mid-afternoon pick-me-up

Posted at 3:42 PM on June 24, 2008 by Bob Collins

How's your day going?

Keep swinging.

(Note: If your browser won't play the video, go here)

Tracking Tim

Posted at 4:36 PM on June 24, 2008 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)

If you want to talk at length to Gov. Tim Pawlenty about Sen. John McCain -- or just about anything else -- it might help if you don't work in Minnesota.

Pawlenty will join joined All Things Considered host Michele Norris in Washington today for some more national exposure (Read and listen). They talked about McCain's energy policy and about Minnesota's role as a potential "swing state."

Recently, Pawlenty has been more available for one-on-one interviews with the national media than the local unwashed hosts. In addition to tonight's All Things Considered broadcast, Pawlenty appeared on CNN's Late Edition last Sunday, was on CNN's Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer last Tuesday, Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace on June 8, and he was on MSNBC today.

Pawlenty's one-on-one interview schedule, however, rarely includes the Minnesota media. A day before Sen. McCain's town hall forum in St. Paul last week, MPR's All Things Considered producer Sam Choo tried to get some time with Pawlenty for host Tom Crann. "Too busy," was the response.

A couple of weeks before that, MPR's Morning Edition tried to book an interview with Pawlenty to coincide with the appearance in St. Paul of Sen. Barack Obama. An official with the McCain campaign (all political interviews with Pawlenty have to go through McCain's Minnesota office) promised to try to get Pawlenty on the show, but never called back.

MPR's Midmorning tried for Pawlenty after the Northwest merger was announced, but was also told he was too busy. Pawlenty hasn't appeared on the show since May 2007, a show in which Kerri Miller gave the governor a grilling far more intense -- and informed -- than anything he's gotten from any of the national hosts. It's also one of the few venues -- along with Midday -- when people get an opportunity to ask the governor tough questions.

The last long-form interview with Pawlenty on MPR was a half-hour broadcast he did on the hour-long Midday broadcast in May.

He hasn't appeared on TPT's Almanac since April. The show hasn't extended an invitation to him since.

Pawlenty still maintains a healthy public appearance schedule and regularly makes himself available for questions by groups of reporters at his daily appearances. He also has his own radio show, although the most embarrassing moment for the governor came on the show on which he was the host.

Is there angst among the local journalists about this sort of thing? Not that one can tell. Besides, Pawlenty spokesman Brian McClung said, "the Governor spoke one-on-one with reporters from the AP, MPR, WCCO Radio and other news outlets after his recent visits to view storm damage and flood damage."

A look at the power of people

Posted at 6:03 PM on June 24, 2008 by Bob Collins (1 Comments)

A delegation from Korea stopped by the World Headquarters of News Cut this afternoon.

We were told by the State Department interpreter that Minnesota Public Radio is "famous" in Korea. Most everywhere else, that translates in English to "we've heard of Garrison Keillor," but I'm not all that sure A Prairie Home Companion translates well in Korea. And since they didn't ask, "do all Americans sing badly?" I'm presuming the "fame" has other origins.

I was invited by the boss to sit in and explain what I do on News Cut, a task that is difficult enough in English. Their tour of the United States is focusing on grassroots democracy in campaigns and elections. They've been to Washington, New York, and Mississippi so far, and -- so far -- their Minnesota visit has the top spot on their list of favorites.

We (me and, Mike Reszler, the online boss in the photo above) learned that in Korea, the newspapers are tanking, the "kids" are listening to their digital devices and "texting" all the time, and old-timers like radio because they listen to it during the commute. We share the language of media economics.

They were very interested in the concept of Public Radio membership and the differences in the type of news being covered on Public Radio and how it differs with commercial radio. Clearly they are impressed by "people power."

The group above includes Mr. Heyeongkon Kim, the director General of Youth Bureau V365 forum; Mr. Yoon Saeng Lee, the chief of planning in the information office of Sohn Hak Kyu, a candidate for president in 2007; and Mr. Sung Min Park, the president of the Minn Consulting Group.

"I'll bet your blog is very interesting," one of them told me later. Clearly, News Cut is not yet famous itself in Korea.

Perhaps I should start singing.