America’s Flawed Televised Primary Debates: Three Nonpartisan Explanations

CNBC was the object of heated criticism of the way in which their GOP primary debate was moderated. During and after the debate, moderators were ridiculed for asking 'gotcha' questions and not focusing on the issues. CNN presenters suggested that such criticism was unfair, since the CNN and Fox News orchestrated debates had asked similar … Continue reading America’s Flawed Televised Primary Debates: Three Nonpartisan Explanations

Grading the Fox News-Facebook GOP Presidential Debate Spectacle by Bill Dutton and Tracy Westen

The televised and Facebooked GOP debate was a disaster. The clear loser of the debates was the media, particularly Fox News and Facebook, for putting together a media event that made a mockery of televised debates. It clearly drew a large audience (over 23 million viewers), and gave some greater national visibility to some of … Continue reading Grading the Fox News-Facebook GOP Presidential Debate Spectacle by Bill Dutton and Tracy Westen