Political afficionados heard a voice from the front lines yesterday afternoon when longtime Washington commentator Fred Barnes spoke about the imperfections of today's media and its role in politics to a packed audience of about 500 GFAP 101 students.
Barnes shared insider anecdotes during his hour-long speech, eliciting both frequent laughs and pointed questions about his message on the national media's flaws.
"My single most important message was that the media has a lot of serious flaws in it, especially liberal bias, and people need to be aware of those flaws and take them into account," Barnes said.
He stressed the increasing lack of depth and what he called a pervasive liberal bias in the media.
Barnes is a co-founder of The Standard, a conservative weekly, as well as a host of several television shows, including PBS' "National Desk," and Fox's "The Beltway Boys." He spent 10 years as senior editor and White House correspondent for The New Republic, a conservative publication.
Larry J. Sabato, government and foreign affairs professor, invited Barnes to speak to his Introduction to American Politics class and address the issue of media and politics.
Sabato pointed to Barnes' background and impressive credentials in the media as reasons for his choice as a guest lecturer for the class
Sabato said Barnes' experiences make him a knowledgeable source on politics and the media.
"Fred has been a member of several major media organizations, his commentary on this subject is a lot more informed than mine," he said.
Before Barnes even took the podium, his personal friendship with Sabato was clear. The two traded good-natured barbs and personal comments during Barnes' introduction and throughout the speech.
Barnes drew one of his biggest laughs when he referred to the Center for Governmental Studies, which Sabato directs, as the "Center To Keep Larry Sabato at U.Va."
The overlap of Barnes' presentation with Days On The Lawn, a day in which prospective students and parents tour the University, yielded a more diverse audience than a typical classroom lecture.
Several parents and prospective students heard the talk, one father and son even staying to banter with Barnes after his speech about his days on the popular political review "The McLaughlin Group".
Sabato's students took to the guest speaker readily, with at least a dozen staying for up to 20 minutes after the speech for the opportunity to speak with Barnes personally and ask him questions about his political views and varied experiences.
Most students focused their interest on Barnes' unusual position as a conservative in the national media, which is commonly believed to be a bastion of liberal political ideas, leading to the belief that there is bias against conservatives in the media.
"I thought it gave an interesting twist because most media people give you a liberal perspective, but Mr. Barnes is a conservative," first-year College student Andrew Stauber said.
As a University graduate, Barnes stopped to mention the changes in the University since he attended the institution, particularly in the makeup of the student body itself.
"U.Va. has changed enormously since I was here," he said. "The biggest change is definitely [the presence of] women."
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