|
  Well Connected
A camera operator and sound man bustle around
Associate Professor of Government Tony Corrado, trying to get the lighting
right, asking each other for "levels" and speaking mysteriously of "zeroing
out." When one begins applying makeup to Corrado's face as he sits under the
bright lights, a College photographer snaps a picture to tease Corrado.
"I take it that's for blackmail purposes," Corrado says, smiling. The
photographer grins back.
Corrado has been waiting for more than an hour as the NBC Nightly News
camera crew sets up in Dean of Admissions Parker Beverage's Lunder House
office, one of the few on campus that could accommodate the needs of a network
news crew. It's lunchtime, and he's settled for a canned Diet Coke. While
waiting he's sat at Beverage's conference table talking to some bystanders
about everything from a workshop he's doing for Maine broadcasters on how to
cover elections, to the fact that he'll be meeting with the last class of the
semester later this afternoon, to his belief that "everyone in Rhode
Is-land"--his home state--"knows everyone else."
Like clowns at a Shriner circus, the crew produces improbable amounts of
equipment from a few boxes--lights, cameras, reflectors, black cloth to cover
the windows and enough cable to strangle King Kong. But after talking to dozens
of print and broadcast reporters and serving for several years as a political
analyst for a Bangor television station on election and primary nights, Corrado
is a pro. He is cordial and patient. "I know how these things go," he says. "I
should have brought some work to do."
Once everything is prepared, Corrado sits in a Colby captain's chair with
Beverage's desk and computer as backdrop. Reporter Gwen Ifill chats with him
over a speaker phone. It is winter and this is Maine, so they talk about snow.
Maine is covered; Washington, D.C., Ifill's home base, has none. "I'm coming to
Washington next week," Corrado says. "I'll get my share of no snow then."
Ifill already knows that Corrado will be at the National Press Club presenting
the findings of the 20th Century Fund's Task Force on Presidential Debates.
"I'm not sure I want to know what your conclusions are," she says with a laugh,
noting that the media often are criticized for their debate coverage.
Corrado is a sought-after source among top journalists, and as Ifill conducts
her on-air interview it is easy to see why. The two discuss presidential and
Congressional bids mounted by candidates, like Ross Perot and Malcolm Forbes
Jr., who can afford to finance their own campaigns. Ifill asks complicated
questions and Corrado doesn't miss a quarter-beat, presenting a clear
explanation of the effects such candidates have on the electoral process--in
general, he thinks, they squeeze out candidates with more relevant
experience.
It is a 10-minute seminar delivered by a master--and Corrado can speak just as
insightfully about most aspects of national and state politics, including the
use of the Internet in campaigning and fund raising and the rise and fall of
candidacies. Newspaper stories quoting Corrado flow to Colby from all over the
country, many the result of long telephone interviews he fields during the
evenings at home.
Interview over, Ifill thanks Corrado and the camera crew, tells Corrado she'll
give him a call once she knows when the story will air and hangs up. As the
crew packs up Corrado waits again--this time to go outside and walk around
campus a bit for the camera.
"You're really good at this, Tony," the camera operator says, going on to
describe aca-demics he's filmed who forget to look at the camera or who ponder
their answers too long.
"One thing I've learned," Corrado says, "on TV, a three-second pause and
you're dead."
Mule Train
Obituaries | Table of Contents
|
|