Academia, Journalism, Politics... And Sarah From Alaska

Hey, who wants to offer productive, positive suggestions for the betterment of our democracy? C'mon! It'll be fun.

I recently posted a lengthy rant of sorts on the topic of academia vs. journalism in the coverage of politics -- spurred by some efforts by political-science academics to tackle the issue. And some of those types have riffed off my comments, including John Sides.

Well, there's something going on RIGHT NOW (and all week) that, if anything ever will, might benefit from greater academy-journo interaction: Sarah Storms America.

So, I'd like to invite folks -- be they academics, journalists, politicos, or even (gasp!) readers/voters -- to offer thoughts, suggestions, questions, advice, or complaints relating to journalistic coverage of the great Palin adventure. Maybe, just maybe, we can affect coverage as it happens!

[Well, not my coverage -- my column on Palin's latest maneuvers, for this coming week's issue, is already with the copy editors.]

Let's broaden a bit, beyond "How should the media be covering Sarah Palin's bus tour?", to "how should the media be covering Palin and the Republican Presidential race this week?" After all, how she gets covered affects how everything else in the race gets covered, from Romney's anouncement to the Rick Perry (and Chris Christie, and Paul Ryan) rumors.

I would also like to particularly invite folks to point to examples of what they think is done well or poorly.

I invite you to offer your thoughts in the comments here, or email to me (dbernstein[a]phx.com), or let me know if you write something on your own blog or wherever. Thanks!!!