Presented by the Povich Journalism Program
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JILL LAWRENCE is a writer for Newsweek and The Daily Beast. She has also written about politics for The Associated Press, The Boston Globe, The Atlanta Constitution and other publications.Columbia Journalism Review named her one of the top 10 presidential campaign reporters in the country in 2004. She won national awards for column writing in 2010 (a Sigma Delta Chi award from the Society of Professional Journalists for Politics Daily columns) and in 1995 (a National Headliners Award for columns she wrote for the AP). Lawrence received a music literature degree from the University of Michigan and a masters degree in journalism from New York University. She is married to John Martin, an editor and e-letter publisher. They have two sons who are professional musicians.
Jill Lawrence joined us this rainy November afternoon to weigh in on the Republican presidential race. At the time, the race was too close to call; like a season of American Idol, Lawrence noted, "every week there's a different winner, but the losers never leave - they just come back." The seasoned campaign reporter appeared bemused, and at times, disbelieving, as she recounted the "farcical" happenings of the race, from Herman Cain forgetting what Libya was to Michelle Bachmann's assertion that the founding fathers fought against slavery. Nevertheless, Lawrence maintained a fairly objective middle ground in her evaluation of today's developing "hyper-partisanship," and fielded loaded questions with the grace she advocates from presidential contenders themselves. Topics included whether or not we should feel sorry for candidates who "flub" on the campaign trail, the revolutionary way Twitter has altered political reporting, the "self-perpetuating" dysfunction within Washington, and whether Sarah Palin would make a surprise appearance at the end of the Republican race.
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