County Councilmember Evan Glass will watch Thursday night’s presidential debate with a group of fellow Democrats, the first time in a very long time that he will not be by himself.
“I typically watch debates at home by myself, because I want to see how the candidates do, but I am actually aware” of what goes on on the television news side, said Glass, who spent 12 years at CNN as a congressional and political producer.
He covered the 2006 midterm elections, the 2008 presidential campaign, the 2010 Tea Party revolution and much more – always on the back end, never before the camera.
The constant travel got to him, and he has since moved on to the political side.
Tonight, he plans to see how CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash deal with “the fine balance” of asking engaging questions while not becoming the news.
“The news industry as a whole is facing a tough business climate,” Glass said, pointing to non-traditional news sources. “At the end of the day, we need journalists to inform, educate and report the truth.”
The CNN team “has clearly been preparing for weeks,” Glass said. “Donald Trump is a convicted felon and a proven liar whose actions on stage will be hard to mitigate,” he noted.
“Hopefully, there will be a conversation, and order is maintained.”
Glass is looking forward to hearing President Joe Biden’s “vision of the future which is vastly different than the grievance-led” vision he expects Trump to pursue.
After six years on county council, Glass is sure he made the right decision to leave the news industry.
“It is far more rewarding to be an agent for change than to be an observer,” he said, adding that he knows a lot of journalists are frustrated with the elected leaders they cover.
