St. John's News

As the 2008 Presidential Election approaches, it is vital that as Americans, we get as much information as possible to make informed decisions come Election Day. Because people rely on the news to be current and up-to-the-minute, newspaper journalists have to make it their duty to always be where the action is. Reporter Michael Luo knows all about the instant nature of the journalism industry. Luo, a journalist for The New York Times, is currently one of the paper’s reporters covering the 2008 Presidential Election. As the eighth speaker of this year’s exciting Academic Lecture Series, Luo came to the Queens campus of St. John’s University, September 30, to give an insider’s view of the presidential campaign and share with over 100 interested students, faculty and administrators the challenges and rewards of news reporting.

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“When I was attacked by an angry McCain supporter outside of a forum in Cedar Rapids, it was just another day at the office,” said Luo. Luo was assigned to follow former presidential candidate Mitt Romney on his campaign trail and report on anything that would be of interest to the public. By following the former governor around, he was able to learn intimate details about Romney’s life both political and personal, “When you’re with a candidate all the time you begin to pick up on the little things.”

Throughout his five years with The Times, Luo has covered numerous topics such as money, religion and the war in Iraq and believes that the best newspaper journalism is successful at giving “a sense of it all.” “We call it giving color and that means describing what it all looks like for your reader - from your environment to what your subject is wearing,” he says.

As he read aloud two e-mails from both McCain and Obama supporters who felt he unfairly represented each candidate in his articles, Luo explained that one of the challenges of being a hard news reporter is that everyone will interpret your point of view differently. During questions and answers, Luo agreed that the media does contribute to forming the publics’ opinions, but clarified that the role of the media is to help shape the conversation, not sway people’s views one way or another. When asked whether he believes the media is biased in their reporting of the candidates, Luo responded, “Our job is to expose the character of each candidate and then let the public decide.”

For a list of upcoming speakers during the Fall 2008 Academic Lecture Series, please visit the Academic Lecture Series schedule.