“The ESPN-ing” of Political Reporting

A public lecture by Matt Bai, New York Times Magazine, supported by the Center.

line drawing of a person in a chair talking, audience members, and a person with a microphone

Thursday

7:00–8:00PM

Simon Hall’s May Auditorium Washington University in St. Louis

One Brookings Drive
St. Louis, MO

Matt Bai’s public lecture is being sponsored by student group, Controversy & Coffee, and supported by the Danforth Center on Religion and Politics and the Gephardt Institute for Public Service.

About Matt Bai

Matt Bai is the chief political correspondent for the New York Times Magazine, where he covered both the 2004 and 2008 presidential campaigns and is now writing on the 2012 election. He also writes the “Political Times” column for the Times political blog, the Caucus. Bai often explores issues of generational change in American politics and society. His seminal cover stories in the magazine include the 2008 cover essay “Is Obama the End of Black Politics?” and a 2004 profile of John Kerry titled “Kerry’s Undeclared War.” More recently, he wrote a definitive cover story on New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and a 10,000-word cover piece titled “Who Killed the Debt Deal?” His work has twice been honored in The Best American Political Writing.

Bai is also the author of The Argument: Inside the Battle to Remake Democratic Politics, now available in paperback. The book, which chronicles the rise of the first Internet-age political movement and the people who built it, was honored as a New York Times Notable Book for 2007. The Economist called The Argument “engaging and painstakingly reported,” and the Washington Post called it “a must read.” The Washington Monthly’s reviewer, Kevin Drum, wrote: “I had more fun reading The Argument than I’ve had reading any political book in ages. It was fun the way The Boys on the Bus was fun. The way Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail ’72 was fun…Or maybe even the way Primary Colors was fun.”

Presenters

  • Matt Bai