OPENING SHOT
Going South
John Edwards wants to be its native son, Al Sharpton its black ambassador. Howard Dean wants to reach its poor white guys. John Kerry muses about winning without it, while George W. Bush wants it all. What is it about the South, anyway, that makes it so central to the nation yet still so other? The South looms particularly large now, in an election year and in a divided red/blue nation, and the press has a chance to try to unravel its many mysteries. But that’s not so easy. Is the South another country, with its own history and sensibilities? Is it a large box that the press uses to contain problems and issues that are really national? Is it both? Jacob Levenson, a Yankee who has spent a lot of time in the South lately, tries to get his mind around the region in our cover story, “Divining Dixie.”
Also in this issue: the editorial pages and the war. Given the preemptive nature of the invasion of Iraq, and given that most of the rest of the world opposed it, one would expect the administration’s rationale to be put to a tough test on the nation’s top editorial pages. How high was the bar? Chris Mooney measures it, and talks to some editors about what they think of their prewar words now. Plus: how U.S. reporters work to understand the Iraqis, why TV’s digital dawn looks rosy, and what political reporters actually do for a living. A reporter who tripped up Erin Brockovich, and another reporter haunted by the serial murders of Juarez. Nine books about war and one about women’s magazines. And more. We hope you enjoy the issue and, as Campaign ’04 progresses, we hope you are also enjoying CJR’s Campaign Desk — daily analyses and critiques of how the media — print, television, radio, and Internet — are covering the race. Find it at www.campaigndesk.org.
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