Teens, Saturday morning, library?

Andrew Edwards

The rain was starting to let up, but author Joe Klein still managed

to attract about 200 high school students into a library Saturday.

Klein, a columnist for Time magazine and the author of “Primary

Colors,” visited the Newport Beach Central Library on Friday and

Saturday as a guest of the Newport Beach Public Library Foundation’s

Distinguished Speaker Lecture Series. Students from Corona del Mar

and Newport Harbor high schools and Sage Hill School were invited to

hear the longtime political writer share his perspectives on

learning, politicians and the media.

“I thought it was actually interesting to get his views on

politics today, and it’s interesting to know what [other] students

know,” 16-year-old Newport Harbor student Jake Fleming said. “I just

wanted to hear a different view because I talk to my parents and

other kids’ parents about politics.”

Klein opened his remarks with an effort to contradict advice given

to many teenagers occupied with pressures from standardized tests and

college applications.

“Let me just say that a lot of the time, parents don’t want me

talking to kids your age because my message is, ‘You can screw up,’”

he said, suggesting teenagers could take advantages of opportunities

like travel before packing up for the university.

“You don’t have to be a part of the intense college roulette

you’re all facing,” he said.

Klein called himself a “flaming moderate,” who disagrees with the

conventional wisdom that Republicans are strong on national security

while Democrats have domestic policy advantages. He said

conservatives make good points for privatizing Social Security to

give future retirees more investment choices and avoid a potential

collapse in the system’s funding, but he agrees with liberals who

oppose the war in Iraq and believe terrorism should be confronted

multilaterally. He said his views are different than most in the

nation’s capital.

“No one in Washington trusts me very much, which is kind of the

way I want it,” he said.

Many of the students wanted to hear Klein’s take on the media.

Eric Lamotte, an 18-year-old Sage Hill student, asked if Klein

expects major media outlets to delve deeply into complex policy

debates or to showcase arguments between talking heads. Klein

responded that large media agencies cover stories people show

interest in, noting Time could sell more magazines if they put

Brittney Spears on the cover than if they promoted an in-depth

article on Social Security.

“Big-time journalism, establishment journalism, the kind of thing

that I do, is very much market driven,” he said. “The public is

interested in sensational things, in sex. Politicians having sex is

usually a good thing for business.”

Another student asked Klein if he sees bias in the news.

“There is bias, obviously; the notion of objectivity is a

fantasy,” he said. “You are molded by the things you have seen,

genetics and a host of other things ... the best you can hope for is

fairness.”

After the talk, Klein said the young audience was a departure from

the graying crowds he usually speaks to. He said he is often

disappointed by apparent apathy among young Americans, and his

audiences usually “look like an old people’s house.”

Students who would take time out of their weekend to listen to

Klein talk about Social Security and journalism might be an exception

from most people their age, but 17-year-old Sage Hill student Phil

Kaye said there is no excuse not to care about politics.

“I think politics, by nature, is the future of our country, and

I’m kind of appalled by the lack of interest,” Kaye said.

* ANDREW EDWARDS covers business and the environment. He can be

reached at (714) 966-4624 or by e-mail at andrew.edwards@latimes.com.