| Subject: Re: Huckabee interview |
| From: Michael Tracey <tracey3@tcnj.edu> |
| Date: 4/22/10, 00:57 |
| To: Barrett Brown <barriticus@gmail.com> |
1. Do you think Huckabee simply didn't remember the responses he gave to your questions?
Well, keep in mind that thus Huckabee has never actually alleged he was misquoted. Rather, he's objected to the framing and emphasis of the questions, and of course the conclusions subsequently drawn in the media. No, I don't think he had some kind of memory lapse -- I think he assumed that the audio would somehow place the comments in a less offensive context. But obviously there was no further context to be discovered, and the quotes was portrayed fairly in the original article, as everyone later learned.
2. Is this the recording provided of the interview limited in scope? As in, was there a significant additional amount of interviewing going on during which Huckabee spoke about anything of importance?
The interview in total lasted just under 40 minutes, and the majority of it was of very little consequence. As such, I only included the relevant sections in the audio file we released. There were actually three interviewers present at the meeting, and the others essentially lobbed Huckabee softball questions, from which he easily pivoted into safe soliloquies about the need for young people to get involved in politics and other similarly bland platitudes.
3. Have you or anyone else at the paper received any messages from supporters or detractors?
My email and Facebook have been lighting up with messages since this happened, and each one thus far has been positive. Even among my conservative and Republican friends, the consensus is that Huckabee made himself look foolish. I've actually been quite inspired by some of the emails I've received, especially those from gays and lesbians for whom these comments were especially hurtful. One gay man who is also an adoptive father wrote to express how necessary it is that people with these sorts of shameful beliefs be exposed for their true selves. That sort of feedback is most valuable to me.
4. Will you be going into journalism or writing as a profession, and what are you majoring in currently?
Ever since I launched The Perspective on my campus last summer, journalism as a career path has come to seem like the next logical step, which is a bit ironic; I've always considered myself more of an advocate than a journalist, and along the way I've simply discovered journalism as an effective means of disseminating my advocacy. I am not a journalism major, nor have I ever taken a journalism class in my life; my major is political science, with minors in religion and philosophy. Unfortunately, those who take journalism as their declared majors seem to be constantly beaten over the head with this notion that a 'genuine' journalist is someone who completely removes him or herself from the emotionally-charged realities of life. A true journalist must engage in this continuous pursuit of "objectivity," they have told me. I, for one, am not interested in remaining neutral. In fact, I have a set of coherent convictions that drive the angles and content I view as newsworthy.
Of course, ideological bent notwithstanding, above all I endeavor to be fair. Even ideological opponents of mine could attest to that.
But yes, my calling seems to be the written word, and that is what I intend to pursue in some professional capacity. I've written for The Nation, The Advocate, as well as countless other blogs and such. So yeah, offer me a job!
5. Name a couple of your favorite bloggers or journalists.
Al Giordano (of The Field) was instrumental in demonstrating to me that advocacy and journalism need not be mutually exclusive; in fact, they are perfectly tailored for one another. I was fortunate enough to receive a scholarship from him last year to attend a workshop he hosted in rural Massachusetts, and I count the experience as a formative one in my intellectual and professional development.
Nate Silver is a daily read for me, as are Andrew Sullivan and ReligionDispaches.org. Other journalists and thinkers I admire include Jeff Sharlet, Christopher Hichens, Naomi Klein, Chris Hedges, and a slew of others.
6. Did you write the headline, or did an editor do so? And what is your official role at the paper?