Trump
called Haberman “Maggot Haberman” after the release of the book,
issuing a statement that it was “yet another fake book by a reporter who
knows nothing about me.” While Haberman said she lets such comments
roll off her, she said her children were upset.
“It was hard for them when I was under attack by Trump, but they know
I love what I do,” she said. Haberman and her husband, Dareh Ardashes
Gregorian, a reporter for the New York Daily News, have three children.
Her one-word take on the Trump administration: “chaos.”
“Trump fostered chaos at his companies, his casinos and, once he was
president, at the White House,” she said. “He didn’t understand the
levers of power, and he didn’t care that he didn’t understand.”
Haberman also spent plenty of time talking about the nuts and bolts
of journalism. Casey Nyman, a sophomore majoring in communication and
minoring in journalism, asked a question about the newsroom culture at The New York Times.
Nyman and others in the audience appeared surprised when Haberman said that she is rarely in the newsroom.
“I covered the White House from New York, and today I am almost never
in the newsroom,” Haberman said. “When I do go in, I get nothing done. I
am just catching up with people.”
She referenced a recent op-ed that Maureen Dowd wrote for the Times
called “Requiem for a Newsroom,” in which Dowd writes about how much
reporters learn from the kind of sidebar conversations that don’t easily
occur on Zoom.
But whether it happens in person or online, Haberman made clear that
communication is core to her work. While she declined to say how she
gets her sources to talk, she acknowledged that relationship building is
key.
“This business is about talking to people,” she said. “If you are
covering the White House — or City Hall, for that matter — it’s all
about talking to people, people on the campaign trail or the people of
this country.”
“Byline” was made possible with generous support from UD professor
emeritus Edward A. Nickerson as a way to enable UD students to learn
from prominent journalists.
“I have idolized [Haberman] for the past three years,” said Macayla
Cook, a first-year student double majoring in English and media
communication with a journalism minor. “It’s really, really cool that
she is here on campus. Last week I heard [former White House press
secretary] Jen Psaki speak at the Biden Institute. Our professors are
insanely qualified and then we have these other opportunities to listen
to professionals in the field.”
Cook asked Haberman a question about the future of journalism and the impact of artificial intelligence on journalism.
“AI is not going to positively impact journalism,” Haberman said. “In
an ideal world, it shouldn’t have an impact, but what concerns me is
people using it as their primary source of information.”
Haberman stressed the need for media literacy to be taught at a young age and the importance of being a savvy news consumer.
“You shouldn’t rely on just one website or TV show to get your news,” she said.
Haberman’s viewpoint resonated with David Redlawsk, chair of UD’s
Department of Political Science and International Relations.
“Hearing from practitioners who deal with and address the challenges
facing American democracy gives us better insight into what is
happening,” Redlawsk said. “I completely agree with Maggie Haberman that
media literacy should be taught in schools, along with more general
civics education. I think a major issue today is that few Americans
really know much about how government and journalism are supposed to
work.”
The only time Haberman was at a loss for words was when asked what
she does in her downtime; she eventually responded that she takes a walk
around the block or watches a movie.
“I don’t have an off switch; I never turn it off,” she said. She
glanced at her phone a few times during the event, although it wasn’t a
breaking news event but family that proved to be the distraction.
“One of my kids sent me a text and it’s going to drive me crazy that I can’t respond for the next 45 minutes,” she said.
Haberman doesn’t see her intense schedule lessening any time soon, and she is fine with that.
“I want my daughter to see that her mom has a job she believes in. I want that for my sons, too,” she said.
She thinks that it is likely that Trump and Biden will be the presidential candidates in 2024.
“If the race stays on the current trajectory, it’s tantamount to two
incumbents running against each other,” she said. “This is not the
moment I want to step away.”
Watch a video of Haberman’s appearance.
