David Gregory to teach course on politics, media in fall semester

This coming fall, television journalist David Gregory will teach a seminar course focusing on the intersections between political campaigns and the media.

Tisch College will bring Gregory, who served as NBC’s former chief White House correspondent during George W. Bush’s presidency and former “Meet the Press” moderator, to teach a course entitled "Race for the White House in a Modern Media Environment." The seminar will be cross-listed in the political science department and Film and Media Studies (FMS) program, according to Jen McAndrew, communications manager at Tisch College.

McAndrew explained that the course will allow students to analyze the press' coverage of political candidates and campaigns, specifically focusing on the current presidential race.

“The course will look at the final stretch of the 2016 campaign, studying the importance of get-out-the-vote efforts, polling and electoral strategy, as well as how these efforts get covered by the press,” she wrote to the Daily in an email.

The curriculum is designed to enable students to better understand the intersections of media and politics by allowing them to examine the presidential candidates’ campaign strategies, social media usage, television advertising and targeting of voters, she added.

According to McAndrew, during his time at Tufts in the fall semester, Gregory will also hold workshops with student groups.

Co-director of the FMS program Julie Dobrow explained that she will be assisting Gregory with logistics for the new course.

“I think it's going to be a great opportunity for Tufts students to look at the election [in] realtime with an instructor who's covered politics for major media outlets and who is thoughtful about both media and politics,” she wrote in an email to the Daily.

Earlier in the semester, Gregory came to campus to discuss the intersections of media, politics and faith as a part of the Tisch College Distinguished Speaker Series. In the Feb. 18 lecture, Gregory touched on the course themes, noting that election cycles provide unique insight into the current state of the country.

“Elections are really a snapshot of where the country is and what the country hopes to do,” he said.

Deborah Schildkraut, chair of the political science department, also noted that she is thrilled to be partnering with Tisch College and the FMS program for the course.

"[This course] presents an incredible opportunity for our students to get an insider's perspective on this potentially transformative election," she wrote to the Daily in an email.