Sherry Bebitch Jeffe

Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, senior fellow at the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, is one of the most-quoted faculty members on campus, particularly during election seasons. Her spot-on observations on politics are sought out by reporters from coast to coast. She is the regular political analyst for KNBC Channel 4 in Los Angeles and has started writing a weekly online column for the station. She talked with writer Allison Engel about being a pundit, the Internet “pajamadeen” and her favorite Web sites, among other topics.

Many professors believe that appearing in popular media, whether it’s newspapers, television or online, is not as valid as authoring a paper in a peer-reviewed academic journal. Your thoughts?

There is a wonderful New Yorker cartoon. It’s a professor in his tweeds and loafers, and he’s looking totally distressed, saying ‘Oh my God, I have reached middle age and I have not yet been quoted in The New York Times.’ That’s what I have to say about that. I think that’s a bogus argument. It’s a bit snobbish.

You have a real gift for explaining complicated issues in engaging ways that the average person can understand. Did you study creative writing?

One of the most shaping experiences of my life was high school. I was in the first class of a special Humanities program at Trenton (N.J.) Central High School. For three years, we all had English, history and drama together. Much focus was placed on writing and articulating orally, and we had an extremely broad education in literature. The other really shaping experience was going to an all woman’s college, Goucher College, which is now coed.

What are your opinions of the “pajamadeen” (bloggers who work from home in pajamas) and other online pundits who are changing social and political discourse?

You cannot deny that blogs are having an impact politically. They really came of age during the 2004 presidential campaign. The bloggers, it can be argued, got Dan Rather, among others. Bloggers, because they are easily accessible, have had an impact on whom the media talks to and what goes into the mainstream media. The plus side is that it’s getting a lot of young people involved. The minus side is that they don’t have the foundation on which to judge what is being said. It concerns me that many people go to those blogs that only confirm their prejudices and ideology. And that’s not what I call knowledge.

What are your favorite Web sites?

The very best, the one I always look at, is Rough & Tumble (www.rtumble.com). It’s a roundup of all of the news about California politics and government for the day. I also look at ABC News’ “The Note,” which is probably the best broad look at what’s happening not only on the national level but on state levels. I look at The Washington Post and The New York Times sites, not just their blogs, although I am getting a little hooked on The Washington Post’s politics blog “The Fix.”

You teach an undergraduate course on politics and public policy and a graduate seminar on communicating public policy. Any other classes you’d like to teach?

There are many. One I’m hoping at some point to develop is a class on the nexus between policy and political campaigns. And one of my favorite classes to teach is “American Politics and Film.”

• Sherry Bebitch Jeffe's faculty bio
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