POLITICO’s Politics Bureau Chief Jonathan Martin sat down with broadcast journalist Mike Gousha Tuesday evening to discuss the underlying political topics and media ethic issues people experience as media consumers. The event was hosted by the UW Center for Journalism Ethics and the Elections Research Center.
Martin’s visit was part of the UW Office of Strategic Communication’s Sharon Dunwoody Journalist in Residence program, which invites journalists to campus for approximately a week to participate in public forums and serve as a resource for students, faculty and staff.
In the discussion, Martin examined Wisconsin’s political climate from a senior political columnist’s point of view.
While visiting classes and speaking with students at UW, Martin’s first questions were if they were registered and, if so, where. Most students responded by saying they were registered to vote in Wisconsin.
“No pressure but at 19, 20, you have the fate of the world in your hands,” Martin said.
One advantage UW has is the ability to talk with students from opposite coasts in one classroom, making this an interesting conversation, according to Martin.
Martin noted Wisconsin being split down the middle creates a high level of suspense, leaving him and many of his colleagues unable to predict which candidate will win.
“Harris’ campaign knows that this is an extraordinarily competitive race and is a margins game,” Martin said. “They are data-driven, trying to find a way to win by a point or two across the three states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.”
When compared to the political discourse around Trump, Martin referred to today’s politics as the “Trump era.”
Martin argued the dominant question voters are asked today is whether they support or oppose Trump and his policies.
But both sides of the political scheme have changed significantly since the origin of the Republican and Democratic parties, with Trump and Harris’s campaigns posing a complete juxtaposition, Martin said.
“[Trump’s campaign] is much more of a shotgun blast than a rifle … his strategy is much more macro,” Martin said.
Martin argued Harris’ campaign is much more vigilant than Trump’s.
“She’s running a much more disciplined, cautious campaign, I think too cautious,” Martin said.
With over 20 years of covering politics under Martin’s belt, journalist Gousha asked Martin if he still finds enjoyment in the adapting world of political journalism.
Throughout the discussion with Gousha, Martin emphasized there is no doubt political journalism has changed, despite this, he feels privileged to continue to do what he loves to find and share the truth with readers.
“What I am able to do is tell the story of this country through the prism of government politics,” Martin said. “I’m not just covering campaigns or writing about this poll in Wisconsin and Michigan, political journalism is explaining to readers where we came from, where we are, where we are going by telling the story of a place.”
