NASHVILLE \u2014 Washington correspondent David Brody knew it was a symbolic moment when Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean appeared on the Christian Broadcasting Network.<\/p>\n\n
Then there was the landmark Nevada trip to interview Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his wife Landra at their home. Landing a face-to-face interview with Sen. Hillary Clinton for \u201cThe 700 Club\u201d? Say no more.<\/p>\n\n
Finally, after a year of negotiations, Sen. Barack Obama\u2019s staff took a leap of faith and scheduled an interview with the news team at the Rev. Pat Robertson\u2019s flagship network. Then Obama came back for another interview, then another and another. <\/p>\n\n
Before that fourth interview, Brody expected to shake hands once again. But Obama caught him off guard by moving in for one of those \u201cHey, how are you doing?\u201d shoulder-to-shoulder bumps that colleagues use when greeting one another.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cIt was strange,\u201d said Brody, speaking at the annual Baptist Press Collegiate Journalism Conference. \u201cYou really don\u2019t want to be chest-bumping White House candidates. It just doesn\u2019t look right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Indeed, these are strange times. In the past year, Democrats have been talking more about their faith than the Republicans \u2014 part of a strategic attempt to capture a slice of a voting bloc that was so crucial in the 2004 elections. But in the age of talk radio, 24-hour cable TV coverage, weblogs and other forms of niche news, politicos are learning that they need to talk to a wider array of journalists to reach these values voters.<\/p>\n\n
All kinds of doors are opening and \u201cyou have to be ready for your close-up,\u201d Brody told an audience of student journalists in Nashville, mostly from Christian campuses across the Bible Belt. <\/p>\n\n
\u201cGo after it hard. Be very, very aggressive. I can\u2019t tell you this enough,\u201d he said. \u201cYou need to make multiple phone calls a day to get your source to talk. You need to make sure that you are constantly really going after the story. Don\u2019t ever let up. \u2026<\/p>\n\n
\u201cMake sure you really find your niche, and make sure you know what you are passionate about.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
After two decades in broadcasting \u2014 mostly in mainstream newsrooms \u2014 Brody has become a go-to commentator inside the Beltway, primarily by gaining a reputation as a fair-minded, even sympathetic sounding board for politicians on both sides of the aisle. Thus, Brody has even started turning up on MSNBC, CNN and NBC\u2019s \u201cMeet The Press.\u201d <\/p>\n\n
Democrats turn to his occasionally goofy weblog, \u201cThe Brody File,\u201d for insights into the views of conservative, centrist and progressive evangelicals. Republicans do the same thing, often to see how Democrats answer his frequent questions about hot-button social questions.<\/p>\n\n
Brody stressed that he isn\u2019t interested in asking \u201cgotcha questions\u201d about faith in an attempt to trip them up. The journalist has heard his own share of loaded questions during his lifetime, since he was raised as a Jew in New York City before converting to Christianity while in college. Brody isn\u2019t fond of labels.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t have an agenda, but I am going to ask questions about faith\u201d during CBN news broadcasts, he said. \u201cI am going to ask personal questions about how the candidates go about making their decisions. Still, I know that there are shades of gray when people start talking about faith. \u2026 So much of our politics in the age of talk radio is totally back and white, but we really do try to avoid polarizing language.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Take the Obama interviews, for example. It\u2019s one thing, said Brody, to ask Obama specific questions about his liberal approach to Christianity, his support for abortion rights and commitment to expanding civil rights of gays and lesbians. It\u2019s something else to \u201cplay judge and jury\u201d and try to challenge the reality of Obama\u2019s faith.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cThere is no question that his sincerity shines through when he\u2019s talking to you about his Christian beliefs and the role that his faith plays in his life,\u201d said Brody. \u201cThis man says what he believes and he believes what he says. Obama has said over and over that he has given his life to Jesus Christ and I think people need to take his word on that. \u2026<\/p>\n\n
\u201cThe question is whether this kind of dialogue with Obama will continue. Are we going to be able to keep talking, without trying to demonize each other? That\u2019s the big question.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NASHVILLE \u2014 Washington correspondent David Brody knew it was a symbolic moment when Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean appeared on the Christian Broadcasting Network. Then there was the landmark Nevada trip to interview Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his wife Landra at their home. Landing a face-to-face interview with Sen. Hillary Clinton for \u201cThe […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":610,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[97,169,194,645,1544,925],"class_list":["post-1512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-barack-obama","tag-cbn","tag-christian-journalism","tag-pat-robertson","tag-politics","tag-white-house"],"yoast_head":"\n