A standing-room-only crowd gathered to hear journalist Steve Kornacki talk about his life and career path during an hour-long conversation with Adjunct Professor Jerry Goldfeder, director of the Law School’s Voting Rights and Democracy Project. Kornacki, of course, is known for his on-point political analysis and presentation while using the “Big Board,” an interactive screen providing detailed election data.
A national political correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC, Kornancki catapulted to viral celebrity status in 2020 due to his tireless coverage of the U.S. presidential race and election. Outside of politics, he has been tapped to bring his unique analytic style to pop culture and sports and break down predictions, including for the 2024 Oscars, 2021 Kentucky Derby, and 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
At one point, Goldfeder asked about his prediction for the 2024 presidential election, rolling out a huge, blank whiteboard and handing Kornacki a marker to make his case in his trademark style. Goldfeder assisted by drawing a very makeshift version of the map of the United States. With great good humor and serious analysis, Kornacki proceeded to detail various scenarios where either President Joe Biden or Donald Trump could get to the magic number of 270 Electoral College votes.
Kornacki shared the genesis of his now-iconic “Big Board”: “I was watching CNN’s election night [coverage]in either 2004 or 2006, and it was the first time I ever saw one of those [electronic, interactive] boards. It clicked with me right away—I was like, if ever I can get a chance to do something like this, I’d love to. Of course, it wasn’t even really a job back then.”
Kornacki also shared insight into how polls have changed since entering the field and what makes a trustworthy poll, “The one-word answer to the last part of that [question]is transparency. There’s one thing that’s changed with polling in the time I’ve been covering it—there’s a lot more of it now and a lot of it is coming from sources that are kind of new to the game … some of them have unclear methodologies. If they’re not going to be transparent, I can’t go on the air and say, ‘Here are the numbers.’”
Kornacki added, “Since there’s more interest in politics than ever before, certainly in modern times, and since the margins of these elections have been so close, it’s only natural that people are going to scrutinize the polls with … an intensity you didn’t see before. So, I understand that and I recognize that.”
After the presentation, Kornacki met with students and signed copies of his book The Red and the Blue, an analysis of how our modern politics became so partisan.
“It was wonderful having the students meet Steve,” said Goldfeder. “He is whip-smart, and very down to earth at the same time—and brought real life into the law school.”
Added Cal Mullan ’25, co-chair of the Voting Rights and Democracy Project, “The event was the perfect combination between learning about Steve Kornacki’s path to political news coverage and deciphering the electoral map for the 2024 election. I was particularly impressed that Kornacki delivered a stellar presentation with an old-fashioned whiteboard compared to the fancy screens he uses during his day job at MSNBC.”
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