CNN is in a unique position, without the overt liberal leaning of MSNBC, to inform viewers about candidates like Kamala Harris.
CNN is in a unique position, without the overt liberal leaning of MSNBC, to inform viewers about candidates like Kamala Harris.

Kamala Harris tests CNN’s campaign

CNN’s “Town Hall” Monday night featuring quickly rising Senator Kamala Harris was moderately helpful in assessing the California freshman’s presidential candidacy but far more useful in evaluating what television must do in the critically important 2020 race.

Host Jake Tapper promised that this would be the first of many such made-for-CNN events. Indeed, with a crowded field of Democratic contenders, many of whom are new to the national scene, an hour of prime time can go a long way toward educating voters.

Or not. CNN chose the campus of Drake University in Des Moines as the setting for its program because, as Tapper explained, “The all-important Iowa caucuses are just over one year away.” That’s a distinction that might work for Iowans but at this stage is lost on voters in 49 other states.

The audience was described by Tapper as “people who tell us they plan to caucus with the Democrats next year and members of the Drake University community.” Translation: A friendly crowd capable of fairly soft, straight-from-the-playbook questions, such as: “What would you plan to do to make America safer (for minorities)?” and “What is the first thing you would do as president of the United States?”

Even the toughest question, about Harris’s record as a prosecutor, was presented without teeth. Moreover, although Tapper made a token effort to follow up, he did not challenge Harris as many critics have in recent weeks.

Writing in The New York Times, law professor Lara Bazelon noted that, “Time after time, when progressives urged her to embrace criminal justice reforms as a district attorney and then the state’s attorney general, Ms. Harris opposed them or stayed silent.”

For her part, Harris was engaging and even charismatic. But her answers often went too long, and Tapper never once interrupted. Without any meaningful pushback, Harris was left to glide along with boilerplate answers.

Perhaps CNN would argue that such introductory gatherings are intended to give candidates a forum to lay out their positions without the rigors of an actual debate, or even the stress of a Sunday talk show. Maybe the format is designed to make it more likely that candidates will accept the invitation, knowing that they will receive only predictable questions.

Previous non-election Town Halls, such as one featuring Rep. Nancy Pelosi, had more meat on the bone and provided a much more valuable service to viewers.

Frankly, the entire Town Hall format is too gimmicky. Since audience questions are carefully screened by producers ahead of time and their order predetermined, what’s the point? The forum would be far more useful if multiple hosts questioned the guest with perhaps a fairly brief audience segment at the end.

It’s a long, some would say excruciating, trek to Election Day 2020. Many people believe it’s far too early to pay close attention to an overcrowded field slugging it out in an overly long campaign.

Then again, the stakes couldn’t be higher. CNN is in a unique position, without the clear conservative bias of Fox, or the overt liberal leaning of MSNBC, to inform viewers about the candidates and issues.

Viewers seem to agree, with nearly 2 million watching the CNN program, the most ever for a single-candidate event of this kind.

Kamala Harris will undoubtedly grow as the campaign moves forward. CNN must as well.

The viewpoints expressed above are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Independent.

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Peter Funt
In print and on television, Peter Funt continues the Funt Family tradition of making people smile – while examining the human condition. After 15 years hosting the landmark TV series “Candid Camera,” Peter writes frequent op-eds for The Boston Globe and The Wall Street Journal as well as his weekly column distributed by the Cagle Cartoon Syndicate. His writing contains the same pointed social observations that have made “Candid Camera” so popular since its invention by Peter’s dad, Allen, back in 1947. His new book, "Cautiously Optimistic," takes America's temperature in six-dozen essays, guaranteed to make readers think and smile. It's available at Amazon.com and through CandidCamera.com. Peter is a frequent speaker before business groups and on college campuses, using the vast “Candid Camera” library to bring his points to life. His newest presentation for corporate audiences, “The Candid You,” draws upon decades of people-watching to identify factors that promote better communication and productivity. Details about Peter Funt’s speaking engagements are available at: www.CandidCamera.com. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naYXOGIktsw for video. Peter hosted the newest versions of “Candid Camera” in recent years with Suzanne Somers and Dina Eastwood, with complete collections now available on DVD. Peter Funt actually made his first appearance on “Candid Camera” when he and the legendary series were each just three years old. Peter posed as a shoeshine boy who charged $10 per shoe! Since that time he has appeared in hundreds of “Candid Camera” sequences, hosted over 200 network episodes. In addition to his hidden-camera work, Peter Funt has produced and hosted TV specials on the Arts & Entertainment and Lifetime cable networks. He also spent five years as an editor and reporter with ABC News in New York. Earlier in his career, Peter wrote dozens of articles for The New York Times and TV Guide about television and film. He was editor and publisher of the television magazine On Cable. And he authored the book "Gotcha!" for Grosset & Dunlap on the lost art of practical joking. Peter’s essay on the evolution of television is included in “The Story of American Business,” published in 2009 by Harvard Business Press. Peter also follows in his father's footsteps as President of Laughter Therapy Foundation, a non-profit organization started by Allen Funt in 1982. Drawing from the Candid Camera library, Laughter Therapy sends special videos, at no charge, to critically ill people throughout the U.S. When Peter took over as host of the CBS specials, "Variety" wrote: "The latest new 'Candid Camera' specials seem to be getting funnier. Peter Funt is as personable as his dad..." Following Candid Camera's Battle of the Sexes special, "The Hollywood Reporter" observed: "This show is great fun. Peter Funt has a remarkably effective presence." Peter Funt received his degree in journalism from the University of Denver. In 2010 he returned to the Denver campus to be honored as a Master Scholar in Arts and Humanities. He is a past winner of the annual Silurian's Award for radio news reporting, for his ABC News coverage of racial disturbances in Asbury Park, NJ. Peter is founder of the Monterey County Young Journalists program in California, which provides hands-on training for high school students pursuing careers in news. He also inaugurated the Courtroom Journalism competition in Monterey County in conjunction with the Lyceum Organization, and conducts a similar statewide event for the Constitutional Rights Foundation in Los Angeles, as part of its Mock Trial program. Peter resides in Central California with his wife, Amy, and two children, Stephanie and Danny. His favorite pastimes are golf, baseball, tennis and people-watching.

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