It’s easy to lose interest in political campaigns, but it’s the news media’s responsibility to make it interesting – and get it right.
Tuesday on Up to Date,the Media Critics return to preview the big news year and talk about how TV stations will rake in the cash with campaign commercials.
KCUR's Sylvia Maria Gross, The Kansas City Star's Derek Donovan, and guest critic and University of Iowa School of Journalsim and Mass Communication director David Perlmutter cover the "topic du jour": the Iowa Caucuses, examine positive- and negative-campaign commercials, and discuss how local media make national stories relevant to their audiences.
Derek Donovan is the Kansas City Star's Readers' Representative. Derek has been with the paper since 1995, and he's also director of research and information. He contributes occasional reviews and features to the features sections as well. Donovan is author of the Ad Astrum. You can reach Donovan via email (readerrep@kcstar.com) or telephone: 816 234 4487. Sylvia Maria Gross is producer and co-host of KC Currents, heard Sunday at 5 p.m. and Monday at 8 p.m. on KCUR. Gross grew up in New York City, Brazil and Bethesda, Maryland. She studied English at Yale University, and then spent a year in Brazil on a Fulbright researching arts education. Back in New York, she taught middle school math and English for six years. Sylvia completed a master's in journalism at Columbia University. Before coming to KCUR in October 2004, she reported in New York City about education and culture for radio and print. David D. Perlmutter is Director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication and a Professor and Starch Faculty Fellow at The University of Iowa. He received his BA ('85) and MA ('91) from the University of Pennsylvania and his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota ('96). He served as a Board member of the American Association of Political Consultants and now sits on the National Law Enforcement Museum Advisory Committee for its Media Exhibit. He has been principal or co-principal investigator in multidisciplinary grants totaling about $400,000. He is a graduate of the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication Leadership Workshop. Read his entire bio here.
