C-SPAN 3 Video Conference 1/21

Chris Cillizza, a political reporter for The Washington Post, spoke about politics and his experience in journalism to college students on January 21, 2010 on C-SPAN 3.

Cillizza focused on Republican Massachusetts Senator-elect Scott Brown’s recent victory against Democratic candidate Martha Coakley.  He criticized Coakley’s campaign ads, saying that she relied on her experience more than focusing on what she would do for her state as senator.  Cillizza also mentioned that Coakley resorted to attack ads too late into the campaign for the ads to be effective.

“I kind of like Scott Brown—he’s the guy in the pickup truck!” Cillizza said in regard to what viewers would most likely say after watching Coakley’s attack ads.

George Mason student Andrew Knight asked Cillizza what kind of differences he had encountered when writing for his online blog The Fix, in comparison to writing for a print publication like The Washington Post.  Cillizza responded by comparing the tone of web-based articles from when he started The Fix in 2005 until now.

“Newspapers are grasping, now, that people want a little personality [when reading stories online],” Cillizza said.

The program, hosted by C-SPAN political editor Steve Scully, is a joint venture between three college campuses: George Mason University, the University of Denver, and Pace University.  The broadcast is aired via tape delay on C-SPAN 3 on Fridays at 5 p.m., and it can also be viewed online at C-SPAN’s website.