2Way: A 2024 Campaign Coverage Winner
With a diversity of voices, objective commentary, informed analysis and ethos of civil discourse, Mark Halperin's 2Way "Morning Meeting" a 2024 winner
I watch a lot of cable news during my workday.
My regular email-delivered newsflow is supplemented with CNN, Fox, MSNBC and C-Span on other screens to monitor a wide swath of political reporting, opinion and policy developments.
But from July through Election Day, I ditched the cable outlets and watched independent journalist/entrepreneur Mark Halperin's daily 9am and 6pm 2Way programming instead. The result? I was more informed, got a lot more work done, and popped a lot less Adderall.
The Campaign 2024 “losers” discussion is already repetitive — and it’s worth noting a clear winner is the 2Way platform and Halperin’s sourcing, reporting and programming.
For legions of politicos, journalists and everyday political observers throughout the U.S. (and the world) who discovered the 2 Way platform via YouTube, X, word of mouth, and other means, the daily 9am and 6pm shows were appointment viewing for the very latest informed, objective, campaign developments.
Besides the ideological diversity of 2Way guests -- real operatives and politicos as opposed to "green room strategists" who've never worked on a campaign — a bevy of new news, fresh analysis and seasoned perspective was packed into 2 daily 30 minute live broadcasts. The shows often lasted 45-60 minutes if topically warranted, spotlighting the on-the-fly programming flexibility.
These collective attributes are 2Way’s primary value proposition vis a vis the desultory, increasingly archaic linear TV alternatives.
The 9am flagship "Morning Meeting" program is hosted by Halperin, Republican Sean Spicer and Democrat Dan Turrentine. They sequentially stepped through the presidential and VP candidates’ daily schedules then move to top-line news, analysis and discussion in a straight-up, no B.S. manner. To close out the morning session, Halperin then welcomes dozens of 2Way viewers — essentially an instant focus group — to chime in on who they’re supporting and why.
I know neither Spicer or Turrentine — but their respective objectivity in such a hyper-polarized environment was as welcome as their genial, chill personalities. Their ying and yang were instrumental to making the show work both intellectually and collegially. Moreover, the platform's Elvis Costello-inspired ethos of "Peace, Love and Understanding" -- invoked by Halperin at the outset of each show -- maintained civility and order.
The guest diversity is something you just cannot find elsewhere. Just off the top of my head, the following operatives, journalists and politicos recently appeared on 2Way over the past month or so:
Jill Abramson, Karl Rove, John Podhoretz, Doug Sosnik, Hank Morris, Jonathan Alter, Paul Manafort, Celinda Lake, Patrick Ruffini, Lauren Leader, Brad Todd, Ann Selzer, Alex Castellanos, Jill Alper, Kristin Davidson, Ehud Barak, Newt Gingrich, Vin Weber, Eleanor Clift, Mark McKinnon, Fred Davis, Ed Goeas, John Della Volpe — just to name a handful.
Talk about “wide-ranging.”
Meanwhile, back to election night: I reverted to flipping through my regular cable news repertoire looking for key predictive news tidbits — with 2Way as my 2nd screen via iPhone.
2Way was consistently 60-90 minutes (or even more) ahead of everyone else in both reporting and “vibing-out” the reality that VP Harris was in big trouble.
That’s incredibly valuable advance tea leaf-reading.
Meanwhile, the CNN, Fox and MSNBC talent (and there are plenty of premier analysts from both parties) are hamstrung by oversized panels consisting of 8 and even 10 guests at a time. And they too frequently walk on eggshells — spouting homogenized “it’s still early” platitudes as the electoral trap door beneath Harris began to spring open.
2Way had no such format or editorial restrictions.
Halperin and company simply reported in real time what they heard and saw. Turrentine, for example, casually — but tellingly — observed when the night was still relatively young that the volume of texts from his Harris and Democratic sources had dissipated — before eventually going dark. It confirmed what one was feeling in the moment as the night wore on.
At the end of the day, the depth of Halperin’s sourcing drives these 2Way shows and its competitive value. His proficiency in sifting through gauzy operative spin and other shiny metal object distractions is a result of his experience and enterprise going back to his founding ABC News’ The Note back in the 90’s.
I also just appreciate professionals — in all lines of work — who’ve devoted decades to their craft and know what the F they’re talking about.
2Way's 2024 campaign coverage was a break-out news platform winner and it will be interesting to see where the platform goes from here as the transition and other 2Way platform projects unfold.