Some students at Emory University welcomed a visitor last week who gave them a rare and compelling perspective on journalism.
For about an hour, the students in Emory’s “Journalism History and Ethics” course got to hear from former President Jimmy Carter on his experiences with the media and ask him questions about news coverage of his career.
Carter, as usual, was remarkably candid and insightful, finding a way to gently urge the students to seek the truth and follow an ethical path in their lives and career.
The former president — and the only one from Georgia — used examples from his time in office to show how coverage can shape policy and opinions.
He admitted his own biases in how he was treated — and he was open about mistakes he’d made.
He said he’d had mostly positive experiences, but “I have had problems with the news media.”
Carter credited a journalist at The Atlanta Journal with saving his political career, as he illustrated the important role that newspapers have had in crucial reforms in the United States.
In his first campaign for public office, the man from Plains ran for the Georgia Senate in 1962. Carter noted that Georgia was still wrestling with the Supreme Court’s “one-man, one-vote” ruling, which had outlawed the state’s “county unit” system.
In the initial count, Carter lost the race. He claimed voter fraud in rural Quitman County, which turned out to be key in the race.
The scheme was exposed by a reporter at The Atlanta Journal, leading to Carter’s election and propelling his career.
Other highlights from Carter’s talk:● As an unknown presidential candidate in 1976, he acknowledged that he enjoyed plenty of positive press — especially early on. “I didn’t have any fame,” he said, so every positive thing that happened in the early primaries led to favorable media coverage. Eventually it led him to the White House in the aftermath of the Vietnam War and Watergate.
● Carter cited his time as president to demonstrate the dramatic changes in media. As the country’s leader, he had to make sure information was available for the morning newspapers and for the 6 p.m. network news. He served when there were no such things as online news sources, Facebook or Twitter. Now, he said, there is immediate and constant coverage all day long on even the most minor stories. That, of course, requires a president to respond and react more quickly.
● He pointed out to the students that CNN, the first 24-hour news network, launched in 1980, his final year in office. “It has totally transformed news coverage,” he said.
● He has also used these changes to his advantage. He explained how in his post-presidency work, he tries to get corrupt leaders in Third World nations to make promises on international broadcasts because it pressures them to honor their words.
● He pointed out that the proliferation of news networks has led to some serving different points of view — and to biased approaches. “The news media is much more highly polarized” than during his presidency, he said.
● His advice to presidents in dealing with the media: Tell the truth. All the time.
Carter was candid about the difficult time he had with the media while president.
“I was not successful in dealing with the White House press,” he said. “That was my fault.”
He told, however, one story of his success in a delicate situation.
When Americans were taken hostage in Iran — the major crisis of Carter’s presidency — six diplomats escaped to the Canadian embassy.
A secret, complex plan was launched to get them out of Iran. (A Hollywood film starring Ben Affleck about the episode is due out this fall.)
Several news organizations had heard about the six, and were pursuing stories. Carter asked them to hold off until the diplomats were safely out of Iran. They agreed and the diplomats escaped.
Perhaps the most important message Carter gave the students was about the power of press freedom in our country and world as a tool for change. He said his Carter Center routinely uses the publicity it receives to help eradicate disease around the world.
He said he was “blessed” to enjoy the freedoms provided by the First Amendment both as a citizen and a leader in the United States.
And he reminded the students that he still works hard to stay informed about his world, even as one of its leading and best-known citizens.
He rises early each morning to read newspapers, including The New York Times, The Washington Post — and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Discuss this column and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s coverage of other areas at editor Kevin Riley’s Facebook page. Visit
About the Author
