Chris Matthews of "The Chris Matthews Show" on MSNBC and John King of "John King, USA" on CNN discuss the nature of the 2012 Election through the prism of cable news coverage."
Bio
John King
John King is CNN's chief national correspondent and anchor of John King, USA, a one-hour political program launched in March 2010. In this role, King aims to connect what happens in Washington D.C. with the lives of Americans across the country. He is committed to traveling outside the beltway and occasionally hosts the program from the road. King has anchored John King, USA from locations such as: the Gulf Coast during the oil spill crisis; Tucson, Ariz., after the shootings of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and other victims; and, from Tunica, Miss., during the recent historic flooding in the South.
King moderated the first CNN debate of the 2012 Republican presidential primary season in New Hampshire. He also moderated two additional debates amongst four GOP contenders in early 2012: a Southern Republican debate in South Carolina in January and an Arizona Republican debate in February. In addition, King has co-anchored CNN's election coverage throughout America's Choice 2012, on key primary and caucus nights, helping voters understand election results through his use of the “Magic Wallâ€. During the 2010 election cycle, King moderated gubernatorial debates in Massachusetts and Florida.
King previously anchored State of the Union with John King, the network's four-hour Sunday news program, during which he interviewed a wide-range of newsmakers, including President Barack Obama and former Vice President Dick Cheney. While anchoring State of the Union, King visited all 50 states in the first year of the Obama presidency to gather the voices of every day Americans.
King joined CNN in May 1997 and became chief national correspondent in April 2005. He served as CNN's senior White House correspondent from 1999 to 2005.
Chris Matthews
Chris Matthews is the host of “Hardball with Chris Matthews,” on MSNBC and the host of NBC’s “The Chris Matthews Show.” Over the last 15 years, he has become known for his powerful and influential political commentary. Matthews is an author, international journalist, and no-nonsense political commentator. He was until recently a nationally syndicated columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle and is the author of best-selling books such as, Now Let Me Tell You What I Really Think. He joined the San Francisco Examiner in 1987 where he served as Washington Bureau Chief for 13 years. Prior to entering journalism, Matthews served as White House aide and speechwriter to President Jimmy Carter and as a top aide to former Speaker of the House Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr.
María Elena Salinas
Univision Network Anchor María Elena Salinas is the most recognized Hispanic female journalist in the United States. Named by The New York Times as "the voice of Hispanic America," for three decades, Salinas has informed millions of Hispanics in the United States, along with 18 countries in Latin America. As co-anchor of the highly-rated evening newscast "Noticiero Univision" and news magazine "Aqui y Ahora" (Here and Now), she has handled some of the most challenging assignments in modern-day journalism.
Salinas' work has earned her several journalistic awards including three national Emmy Awards and one regional. She was also part of the Univision news team that received the Edward R. Murrow Award for the network's coverage of the Atlanta Olympic Park bombings. Salinas has interviewed every U.S. President since Jimmy Carter and has been face to face with dozens of Latin American heads of state, rebel leaders, and dictators. In 2007, Salinas made history by co-hosting both the first ever Democratic and Republican candidate presidential forums in Spanish on the Univision Network.
Her influence reaches beyond television. Salinas is a radio analyst on Latino issues and is one of few Hispanic syndicated columnists in the United States, where her column is published in both Spanish and English, as well as on Univision.com and her own website MariaESalinas.com. In 2006, she published her memoir entitled "I Am My Father's Daughter: Living A Life Without Secrets," which received critical acclaim and made the best-seller lists for Spanish-language books on several occasions.
Salinas is also the official spokesperson for "Ya es Hora" (It's Time), a national citizenship and civic engagement campaign, that received the coveted Peabody Award for helping motivate Hispanics to participate in the American political dialogue. In 2000, Salinas launched a scholarship in her name to be awarded to a Hispanic journalism student interested in pursuing a career in Spanish language media. She is one of the founding members of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and sits on the board of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund and the International Women's Media Foundation.
Salinas began her journalistic career as a reporter for KMEX-34 television in Los Angeles in 1981. Her insightful reporting on the impact of daily news to the increasingly growing Hispanic community in Southern California quickly earned her the credibility that would lead to her assume the anchor chair of "Noticiero Univision" in 1987.
Since then her brand of journalism has earned her dozens of awards and recognition from important groups such as the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, and the National Organization for Women that honored her with the coveted Intrepid Award.
Salinas has been featured as one of the most influential Hispanics in the United States in several publications including Hispanic Magazine, People En Español and PODER, and was named one of the "Top 15 Most Influential Hispanics" among Latino voters in a poll conducted by Hispanic Voter Trends.
Salinas was born in Los Angeles to Mexican immigrant parents. She resides in Coral Gables, Florida, with her two daughters, Julia Alexandra and Gabriela María.
Steve Scully
Steven L. Scully is a senior executive producer and political editor for the C-SPAN television network. He is also a host of its morning call-in show, Washington Journal. Scully served as president of the White House Correspondents' Association from 2006 to 2007.
Scully joined C-SPAN in 1990 as political editor and White House producer. Since 1991, he has been responsible for coordinating campaign programming for C-SPAN, C-SPAN.org and C-SPAN Radio. As senior producer for the network's White House coverage, Scully manages a team of field producers responsible for coverage of the White House, politics and special projects. He serves as the regular Sunday host of Washington Journal, a live three-hour news and public affairs program. He is a host and moderator for a number of other C-SPAN programs, including Newsmakers, Road to the White House and In Depth on Book TV. In addition to his television work, he regularly appears on C-SPAN Radio’s Washington Today, a live two-hour afternoon drive time program broadcast nationwide on Sirius XM Radio.
In January 2003, Scully assumed the Amos P. Hostetter Chair at the University of Denver and Cable Center, teaching a distance learning course on media, politics and public policy issues via a cable television connection between Washington, D.C., University of Denver, Pace University and George Mason University. The class aired on C-SPAN and C-SPAN3, and was streamed via the C-SPAN website. He taught the course at the University of Denver until 2011 and continues to teach the class at George Mason University (as well as Purdue University at one point) in conjunction with The Washington Center.
Scully began his journalism career as a weekend newscaster on WAMU, the American University-based radio station. Following his undergraduate degree, he worked as a reporter and anchor for Erie's WSEE-TV in 1982 and 1983. He returned to WSEE after completing his graduate studies in 1984. After a stint as a Washington, D.C.-based correspondent for WHBF-TV in Rock Island, Illinois, he joined WHEC-TV in Rochester, New York in 1986 as a correspondent covering business, politics and local government. He also taught courses on media and politics as an adjunct faculty member at Nazareth College and St. John Fisher College.
Scully received an undergraduate degree with honors in communication and political science from American University in Washington, D.C. During his degree he completed a study abroad program at the University of Copenhagen, interned for Sen. Joe Biden and served as a staff assistant in Sen. Ted Kennedy’s media affairs office. Scully then earned a Master of Science degree in journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, graduating magna cum laude.
Scully was the 2009 recipient of the Fitzwater Center for Communications Award, for exemplary journalism and public service, and in the same year was recognized by The Washingtonian as one of the capital's "50 Top Journalists".
Scully and his wife, Katie, reside in Fairfax Station, Virginia with their children. Scully serves on the board of both the CJ Foundation for SIDS, which raises money for sudden infant death syndrome research, and First Candle, which aims to increases public awareness of SIDS.
Chris Matthews, host of MSNBC's "The Chris Matthews Show, argues that advancements in media and cable news have changed how the public engages with the news.
Univision Network Anchor María Elena Salinas believes that the game-changing moment of 2012 will be the preference of the Latino voters in the Presidential Election. Salinas thinks that Mitt Romney will have a hard climb with Hispanic voters.
John King, host of "John King, USA" on CNN, discusses the heated exchange he had with Newt Gingrich during the South Carolina Primary debate in January.
