Matt Bai (LA '90), now a political journalist for The New YorkTimes Magazine, has seen his share of controversy. While a studentat Tufts, his stories for the Observer frequently touched offcampus debates, and in 1994, his first magazine article sparkedwhat he considered "the biggest firestorm of [his] career" -- untilnow.
In the wake of his Oct. 10 cover story on Democraticpresidential hopeful John Kerry for The New York Times Magazine,Bai is in the midst of what he calls, with a mixture of ruefulnessand bemusement, "the mother of all controversies."
In the profile, which focused on the Massachusetts senator'sworldview and foreign policy outlook, Kerry told Bai that "we haveto get back to the place we were, where terrorists are not thefocus of our lives, but they're a nuisance."
Almost immediately, the Bush campaign seized upon the quote asan indication that Kerry does not take terrorism seriously.President George W. Bush said the quote shows that Kerry "justdoesn't get it"; Vice President Dick Cheney said the quote reflects"an unacceptable mindset" that "says a lot about a lack ofcharacter."
But what does Bai have to say on the subject? Nothing that isn'talready included in the profile that roiled the waters in the firstplace. "I've found a great comfort level in letting my writingspeak for itself," said the Trumbull, Conn., native.
"When things go haywire, I don't promote myself -- I let thestory speak for itself," added Bai, who turned down an offer toappear on "The O'Reilly Factor" the day before speaking with TheTufts Daily. "I never go on TV unless it's a good, credible show --I'm sort of old-fashioned that way. I used to do TV, but I neverleft the studio feeling better than when I came in."
The television-or-not-television decision, Bai says, is one alljournalists who become successful must make. "All journalists haveto ask themselves, 'How glib do I want to be? How self-promoting doI want to be? How famous do I want to be?'" Bai said. "I prefer forpeople to recognize my writing and my name, but not my face."
Starting with his days at Tufts, Bai has set about achievingjust that sort of recognition. "The Observer at the time was areally good paper," he said. "My career and my closest friendshipswere born in that office when I was 18 or 19."
Another formative experience for Bai while at Tufts was EPIIC."You can see a lot of what I learned in EPIIC with [Director of theInstitute for Global Leadership] Sherman Teichman in what I writenow," Bai said. "That grounding in how we got to where we aretoday, and where we're headed, has served me very well."
"You can see shades of what I learned there in [the piece onKerry]," added Bai, who has also conferred with Tufts Professor ofhistory Marty Sherwin to gain background for his articles. "Youhave to understand the Cold War to understand the debate onterrorism -- I've been really grateful for Sherman's class."
Also while at Tufts, Bai developed his desire to constantlychallenge the status quo. "I was never great with authority -- Ithink that's a common thread running through Tufts students," hesaid. "The nature of the constant campus debate taught you tochallenge your preconceptions, which is a big goal of mine as ajournalist."
Upon graduation, Bai worked at what's now called the U.S. Fundfor UNICEF in NYC. After three years as a speechwriter there (hewrote speeches for people including Audrey Hepburn, whom he calls"a wonderful lady"), Bai attended Columbia University's JournalismSchool, where he graduated at the top of his class in 1994 and wona Pulitzer Traveling Fellowship.
After interning at Newsweek, Bai worked at The Boston Globe as ageneral assignment reporter for two years. Then, after spending ayear as a Fellow at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government andworking for Rolling Stone "for about five minutes," he went back toNewsweek, where he spent five years as a politicalcorrespondent.
"I had always been interested in politics, but I wasn't sure Iwanted to write about it," Bai said. "Newsweek was where I got intothat."
Now, Bai is in his third year writing for The New York TimesMagazine -- and he's thrilled to be doing so. "There's a lot I loveabout my job," he said. "I love politicians and the business ofpolitics -- people who don't like politicians and politics shouldnot cover politics any more than people who don't love moviesshould review movies."
"I think being in the public service arena is an incrediblydifficult and noble thing, and I like to be around people whoentered it," Bai said. "A lot of people are cynical about it; I'mnot. I love talking to politicians big and small."
Thanks to his accumulated experience and his current position,many of the politicians Bai interacts with now are on the "big" endof the spectrum.
Luckily for him, then, Bai has "never really had a problem[treating larger-than-life politicians like people rather thanicons]."
"I look at politicians as people, fallible people, but I don'tassume their motives are bad," Bai said. "A couple of moments havebeen genuinely intimidating, though, like interviewing Bill Clintonin the Oval Office. It's designed to be nerve-wracking, and itis."
"Confrontations with major politicians I respect can be a littleharrowing, but when the moment comes, I can handle it," Baisaid.
Bai is grateful to have the chance to explore what "majorpoliticians [he respects]" have to say in a thorough and seriousway. "The New York Times Magazine has a disproportionate impact,"Bai said. "I get to work with the smartest editors -- editors whowant to do thoughtful, substantive pieces, which is rare."
"If I couldn't cover politics for a really substantive outlet,I'd write about something else," added Bai, who says he "[loves]finding out, telling, and hearing people's stories."
Bai, who spends about a week out of each month traveling, alsoloves his autonomy. "The thing I like is that my days are never thesame," he said. "I have a lot of independence, and I never quiteknow what's around the corner. I have to look at the calendar tosee what I'm doing, where I'll be, each day. I work largely at myown pace."
That pace, Bai said, rarely slows. But when it does, he relishesthe chance to sit back and enjoy it
"On a good day, I stay in sweats till 1 p.m., eat a peanutbutter and jelly sandwich, read a few chapters in a book -- likecollege, but no video games," he laughed. "But those days are fewand far between."
On Oct. 27, Bai will return to his alma mater to discuss"Adventures in Political Journalism." The event, which will takeplace in Paige Hall's Crane Room, is sponsored by theCommunications and Media Studies Program.
