If you've been following this election (and who hasn't?) you've probably known that Barack Obama has himself a fancy campaign plane. Obama has been accompanied on his plane by a bevy of reporters from all across the country.
Until now.
In this last week before Election Day, Obama has shuffled the reporters around, removing some from the plane. His campaign states that this is being done due to a lack of seats.
What's catching attention is the fact that the reporters are from three papers that recently endorsed John McCain: The Washington Times, The Dallas Morning News, and the New York Post. Each paper's side of the story can be found on the respective links.
According to The Drudge Report, the spaces are being offered to "network bigwigs" and two black magazines, Essence and Jet.
The campaign denies that the political leanings of the papers are linked to the decision.
In fairness, McCain has done the same thing this campaign. Joe Klein from Time and Maureen Dowd of The New York Times were barred from his plane for being critical of McCain and his campaign.
So, more interesting questions for our class:
*Is freedom of the press being slighted?
*Is it really worth it for papers to endorse candidates if it leads to these conflicts?
*Is endorsing candidates a journalistic responsibility? Which element of journalism would it fall under?
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I read an article in July about Obama's relationship with the press, and especially in regards to the plane rides. He's aloof, it said. He keeps his distance and rarely would a reporter who sat on a transcontinental flight get a one-on-one with the presidential candidate. So I guess I'm not too worried about this decision of Obama's because I don't know if it really makes much of difference. Mostly, I would be concerned if his press selections paralleled party lines, not power.
You're research is awesome Natalie, I'm way impressed.
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