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CNN Hopes to Capture Candidates’ Combative Spirit in G.O.P. Debate
The New York Times
Ashley Parker
9/15/2015
Excerpt:
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — The leading Republican presidential hopefuls have spent the weeks since their first debate provoking each other, with distant taunts and tweeted insults.
And now CNN, which hosts the second candidate clash here Wednesday night, is aiming to capture that same combative spirit by getting the candidates to engage with one another in person and on camera.
The effort to encourage candidate interaction differs from the approach taken in the first debate by Fox News, which relied heavily on its three accomplished moderators to ask tough questions, forcing the participants to outline their positions and explain their records, yielding only a handful of memorable exchanges between the men on stage.
Fox News drew praise for its handling of the event — along with a record number of viewers — but CNN’s team of producers and moderators said they were looking to establish a different tempo and to emphasize candidate interaction above all else.
“My goal is more about: Let’s draw the contrasts between the candidates, and have them fight it out over these policies, over who has the best approach to Putin, over who has the best approach to taxes, over who believes what over immigration reform,” said Jake Tapper, CNN’s chief Washington correspondent, who is moderating Wednesday’s debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. “Have them lay it all out so voters can see it.”
Mr. Tapper said the most riveting exchange in the first debate was the one between Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey and Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, over the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of data. He described the feisty back-and-forth as “electric” and “illuminating,” saying he hoped to create as many of those moments as possible.
“That’s how we’ve been crafting our questions, so that Senator X will respond to what Governor Y said about him or a policy he proposed, and try to encourage them to actually debate Lincoln-Douglas style as much as possible,” he said, referring to the face-offs between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas.
The sentiment is shared throughout the network. “Our whole approach is sparking a debate,” said Dana Bash, CNN’s chief political correspondent, who, along with Hugh Hewitt, a conservative radio host, will also be onstage asking questions. “If someone says something that cries out for an obvious follow-up with someone who clearly disagrees or someone who is dying to get in, let it happen. Let the debate be a debate.”
And though the debate is being held at a venue honoring the president and party icon who popularized the “11th Commandment” — “Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican” — many of the campaigns are preparing for direct confrontation between the candidates.
“Jake Tapper is going to do whatever he can to get the candidates to go after each other,” said a strategist advising one of the candidates, who declined to be named delivering what could be seen as a criticism of the network. “If somebody is knocked out, CNN will be happy. In the first debate, the moderators controlled the candidates; in this debate, the candidates will have to moderate themselves.”
Though the moderators say they will look for opportunities to let the candidates interact, they may have to tread carefully to avoid appearing as instigators. The network garnered some criticism in 2012 for its handling of several memorable debate moments.
In one primary debate in South Carolina, John King, the moderator, opened by pressing Newt Gingrich on personal comments made by his former wife. Mr. Gingrich lashed back at Mr. King, helping galvanize public support — and went on to win the state’s primary.
Then, during the second general election debate, Candy Crowley, then a CNN correspondent, earned the ire of Republicans by fact-checking Mitt Romney in real time on live television.
Asked about the 2012 moments, Sam Feist, CNN’s Washington bureau chief, said he hoped Wednesday night’s performance would leave viewers talking about the candidates. “If at the end of the debate the conversation is about the candidates and their positions, then we have done our job,” he said.
Another challenge facing the network is how to handle Donald J. Trump, whose blustery pronouncements and skills as an entertainer have confounded journalists trying to pin him down on policy specifics, and whose lead in the polls has earned him a lectern squarely in the middle of the stage.
.................................................. ......
View the complete article, including images, at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/16/us...op-debate.html
The New York Times
Ashley Parker
9/15/2015
Excerpt:
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — The leading Republican presidential hopefuls have spent the weeks since their first debate provoking each other, with distant taunts and tweeted insults.
And now CNN, which hosts the second candidate clash here Wednesday night, is aiming to capture that same combative spirit by getting the candidates to engage with one another in person and on camera.
The effort to encourage candidate interaction differs from the approach taken in the first debate by Fox News, which relied heavily on its three accomplished moderators to ask tough questions, forcing the participants to outline their positions and explain their records, yielding only a handful of memorable exchanges between the men on stage.
Fox News drew praise for its handling of the event — along with a record number of viewers — but CNN’s team of producers and moderators said they were looking to establish a different tempo and to emphasize candidate interaction above all else.
“My goal is more about: Let’s draw the contrasts between the candidates, and have them fight it out over these policies, over who has the best approach to Putin, over who has the best approach to taxes, over who believes what over immigration reform,” said Jake Tapper, CNN’s chief Washington correspondent, who is moderating Wednesday’s debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. “Have them lay it all out so voters can see it.”
Mr. Tapper said the most riveting exchange in the first debate was the one between Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey and Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, over the National Security Agency’s bulk collection of data. He described the feisty back-and-forth as “electric” and “illuminating,” saying he hoped to create as many of those moments as possible.
“That’s how we’ve been crafting our questions, so that Senator X will respond to what Governor Y said about him or a policy he proposed, and try to encourage them to actually debate Lincoln-Douglas style as much as possible,” he said, referring to the face-offs between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas.
The sentiment is shared throughout the network. “Our whole approach is sparking a debate,” said Dana Bash, CNN’s chief political correspondent, who, along with Hugh Hewitt, a conservative radio host, will also be onstage asking questions. “If someone says something that cries out for an obvious follow-up with someone who clearly disagrees or someone who is dying to get in, let it happen. Let the debate be a debate.”
And though the debate is being held at a venue honoring the president and party icon who popularized the “11th Commandment” — “Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican” — many of the campaigns are preparing for direct confrontation between the candidates.
“Jake Tapper is going to do whatever he can to get the candidates to go after each other,” said a strategist advising one of the candidates, who declined to be named delivering what could be seen as a criticism of the network. “If somebody is knocked out, CNN will be happy. In the first debate, the moderators controlled the candidates; in this debate, the candidates will have to moderate themselves.”
Though the moderators say they will look for opportunities to let the candidates interact, they may have to tread carefully to avoid appearing as instigators. The network garnered some criticism in 2012 for its handling of several memorable debate moments.
In one primary debate in South Carolina, John King, the moderator, opened by pressing Newt Gingrich on personal comments made by his former wife. Mr. Gingrich lashed back at Mr. King, helping galvanize public support — and went on to win the state’s primary.
Then, during the second general election debate, Candy Crowley, then a CNN correspondent, earned the ire of Republicans by fact-checking Mitt Romney in real time on live television.
Asked about the 2012 moments, Sam Feist, CNN’s Washington bureau chief, said he hoped Wednesday night’s performance would leave viewers talking about the candidates. “If at the end of the debate the conversation is about the candidates and their positions, then we have done our job,” he said.
Another challenge facing the network is how to handle Donald J. Trump, whose blustery pronouncements and skills as an entertainer have confounded journalists trying to pin him down on policy specifics, and whose lead in the polls has earned him a lectern squarely in the middle of the stage.
.................................................. ......
View the complete article, including images, at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/16/us...op-debate.html