Alex Castellanos: Election at a Turning Point

Notch one Republican for Obama.

Not as a supporter, of course — after all, Alex Castellanos, a fellow at the Institute of Politics this semester, has spent more than two decades working as a media consultant for Republican candidates. But in a September 23 talk titled "The Unprecedented Political Developments of Campaign ’08," Castellanos gave his call on the upcoming election: 60/40 odds for the Democratic candidate.

"This has got to be the strangest election I've ever seen," said Castellanos after his introduction by Shorenstein Center director Alex Jones. He ticked off Hillary Clinton's losing the primary to "a young college kid"; John McCain's coming back from political oblivion, and then picking "a moose hunter" for vice president. "And just when we said it can't get any stranger, the economy turns to sawdust."

To learn more, go here. You can also listen to an audio recording.

Mark Halperin Speaks to Full House at Center Event

A brown-bag lunch with Mark Halperin, editor at large and senior political analyst for Time magazine, kicked off the 2008–2009 academic year at the Shorenstein Center. Because of the high level of interest in Halperin and his September 16 talk, titled "The Home Stretch: The Candidates and the Media," the event was held in the Malkin Penthouse of the Littauer Center, but was still standing-room only. An audio recording of the event can be found here.

Shorenstein Center Announces Fellows and Visiting Faculty

On September 8 the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy announced their fall 2008 fellows and visiting faculty. They are Sandra Nyaira, a reporter for the Association of Zimbabwe Journalists; Rory O'Connor, author, blogger, journalist and filmmaker; Eric Pooley, contributor for Time magazine; and Edward Schumacher-Matos, founder of Rumbo Newspapers and Meximerica Media. Maralee Schwartz is the Visiting Edward R. Murrow Lecturer on the Practice of the Press and Public Policy. For more information, go here. The complete press release can be found here.

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Election-Related Research

• Shorenstein Center Conference, Women and News: Expanding the News Audience, Increasing Political Participation, and Informing Citizens.
• Robin Sproul, Exit Polls: Better or Worse Since the 2000 Election?
• Robert Blendon and John Benson, Crisis — Americans Worry: How They View Their Lives in an Economic Downturn

Recent Events

• YouTube's Steve Grove: "The YouTube Election: The Impact of Online Video on Political Media."
• Peter Hart, public-opinion analyst: "Where We Are."
• Paul Sagan: "Akamai: 'Clever and Cool' Innovations on the Internet."