Al Gore Lectures Journalism Students

ByABC News
February 6, 2001, 7:53 PM

N E W   Y O R K, Feb. 6 -- Former Vice President Al Gore taught his firstclass at one of the nation's premier journalism schools today but it was all supposed to be off the record.

As more than 40 media types clamored outside, denied access tothe lecture hall, Gore delivered the first in a series of lecturesat Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism.

But his classroom lesson in "Covering National Affairs in theInformation Age" was overshadowed by questions of covering Gorehimself.

Gore said he felt great about his first day of school, but hispresence sparked controversy as reporters and students questionedwhy the press was excluded and class members told the comments wereoff the record.

"Because it's a class, I guess," Gore said with a chucklebefore his lecture. "It's a school policy."

Gore later elaborated: "As I understand it, the normal policyis that the classes are usually off the record. I would have hadthe option to do it on the record, but I think the students willget more out of it, if it's as much as possible a normal classroomexperience."

First Lesson: Off the Record

Suzanne Trimel, a spokeswoman for the university, said otherjournalism professors "got wind that news organizations werecoming to students offering to pay them as freelancers," whichshe said violated the spirit of the event.

She described the goal of the class as "an exchange and alearning experience for students with the vice president, and not anews event."

"It's an incredible opportunity to have an intimate discussionwith the guy who got the most votes in the land," said Craig Wolf,one of the professors of the national affairs class.

Gore, after losing last year's presidential election, signed onto teach courses at Columbia and at Middle Tennessee StateUniversity and Fisk University, both in his home state ofTennessee.

Still, Wolf said, his initial response to the class being offthe record was, "What? Are you kidding me? But this is aclassroom."