NYPost

MURDOCH GUESTS WITH PROF. GORE Thursday,March 1,2001

By LEONARD GREENE

Politician-turned-professor Al Gore yesterday played host to News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch in his journalism class, where students said the former vice president dodged discussion about the latest Florida recount.

A careful Gore declined to weigh in with any reaction to a Miami Herald tally of ballots, which showed that he would have lost the state even if the post-election recount had not been stopped by the Supreme Court.

Instead, he kept the conversation about chads and dimples in the context of media coverage.

"It was great fun," Gore said as he left Columbia University's journalism building. "We had a real interesting session. I loved it. I found it fascinating, also. And I think Rupert Murdoch enjoyed it, too."

Murdoch - owner of the New York Post, which endorsed George W. Bush - agreed.

Murdoch arrived with Gore 20 minutes early for the course on "Covering National Affairs in the Information Age," and later praised the students for being inquisitive.

"We had a general, lively discussion about newspapers and ethics of journalism," Murdoch said.

"There were hard questions, and you answer them to the best of your ability. I enjoyed it very much."

The class, Gore's third, had a festive atmosphere, as members of Columbia's band played songs in the courtyard outside and students gathered between classes to catch a glimpse of the duo.

Inside, students debated Murdoch's contention that the Miami Herald recount would have received more attention had it shown results that differed from the final election tally.

"The dialogue was great," said student Josh Kunis. "There were a few times when the recount came up, and Al Gore took a third-party approach to it, even though you know how much it means to him. He was very careful."

"He made a couple of jokes about it," said student Lenora Chu. "But that was about it."

After the class, Gore met with former Mayor David Dinkins, who declined to comment on the discussion. Gore also declined to comment on the pardon scandal involving former President Bill Clinton.

-- Anonymous, March 01, 2001