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Teaching Online Journalism

Obama: The West Wing, Series 2

It’s probably only because I am a huge fan of the NBC-TV series The West Wing (1999-2006), but I felt a sense of déjà vu when I started clicking the hyperlinks embedded in this New York Times story about Obama’s newly named chief of staff.

By clicking through to the linked bios, I learned about Valerie Jarrett and Pete Rouse, who will serve on the transition team, as well as the incoming Leo McGarry (Rahm Emanuel).

Who will be Obama’s C.J. Cregg? Who will be his Josh Lyman?

Now, back to online journalism (ahem) — The Washington Post also has links in its story about the Emanuel selection (see Rahm Emanuel), but the pages are generated by a search — there is no personality in them.

The New York Times pages, in contrast, make me feel like I’m seeing a story unfold. I’m meetng the players and getting to know them. It’s another example of “Story trumps data.”


Categories: teaching


4 Comments

  1. Nick says:

    And note that the Obama/McCain race was totally Santos/Vinick.

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7616333.stm

    Now imagine if Aaron Sorkin started ghost writing speeches for Obama…

  2. @Nick – Nice find in that BBC story!

  3. Bryan Murley says:

    I thought Robert Gibbs had already been named press secretary.

  4. @Bryan Murley – As of right now, “being considered for”:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/06/us/politics/06gibbs.html

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