This semester has been marked by a number of visits by political pundits and analysts to the University’s campus. On March 8, this trend will continue as Michael Tomasky of The Daily Beast will speak at the ELC Forum to give his perspective on the 2016 presidential campaign thus far.

Tomasky’s body of work is extensive. Aside from acting as a current contributor to the Newsweek offshoot, The Daily Beast, Tomasky serves as editor-in-chief of the progressive journal Democracy. He has also written a number of books (his latest being,“Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!: The Beatles and America, Then and Now”) and has a prolific Twitter account. What exactly will he be discussing? He’ll certainly have no shortage of material. March 1 saw what many have dubbed “Super Tuesday,” where voters from 11 states went to the polls to vote for their choice of nominee for their respective party.

Trump’s success has rocked the political world, and conservatives and liberals alike are asking themselves: how did this happen? Some point to economic conditions and general anti-establishment sentiment (this is not only an American phenomenon, as we are seeing populist movements popping up across the developed world too). Some have recently pointed to the media as the source of his success. On Feb. 9, Associate Professor of Political Science at George Washington University John Sides spoke at a lecture sponsored by the Bucknell Institute for Public Policy (BIPP) concerning the events of the 2016 presidential campaign. In analyzing Trump’s road to success, Sides found that media coverage of the Republican candidates was overwhelmingly saturated with Trump. Due to this, many have blamed the media for giving Trump attention and therefore tainting the democratic process. Are those in the media like Tomasky at fault? You’ll have to get his opinion.