Great Debates: Why They Matter & What Is at Stake

Thursday, September 27, 2012
6:30 pm ET
New York



In Person

Carole Simpson, 1992 Presidential Debate Moderator
Bill Wheatley, Executive Producer, NBC News
Dr. Meena Bose, Peter S. Kalikow Chair in Presidential Studies at Hofstra University; Director, Hofstra’s Peter S. Kalikow Center for the Study of the American Presidency
Caitlin Thompson, Director, Online Political Coverage, WNYC
Moderator: Pat Mitchell, CEO/President, The Paley Center for Media

Please Note: Barbara Walters, who was scheduled to appear, regrettably will not be on tonight's panel.

 

   

 

Hosted by The Paley Center for Media and the duPont-Columbia Awards

Political debates are unscripted television at its best. This evening will explore the risks and rewards for candidates as well as issues the networks and moderators face before the 2012 debates begin the following week on October 3.

The evening will commence with Carole Simpson discussing her experiences of moderating a presidential debate in 1992. The panel with its diverse perspectives will then take the audience behind-the-scenes of these pivotal live televised events, examining the challenges that networks have in airing these high-stakes contests. The panel will also explore how having new formats, like town meetings, and new technology, such as social media, impacted the process. And the seminal question will be asked: Are the debates still the best way to inform the electorate about where candidates stand on issues?

In association with The Columbia Graduate School of Journalism and the Women’s Media Center

    

Join the Conversation!  We will LIVE tweet this event. Follow @paleycenter and @duPontAwards and use #PaleyLiveNY to join in. Your tweet will be seen in the widget we add to this page on the day of the event.

This event is part of

 

Other Events in the Series

Viewing Party

What good is sitting all alone in your room? Come watch the October 16 Presidential Debate LIVE from Hofstra University at the Paley Center's Viewing Party, on the big screen in New York City!

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