Erik Wemple of the Washington Post media blog attended Hillary Clinton's town hall meeting staged by CNN and reports that prior to the show, a stage manager coached the audience to cheer and whoop it up for the former secretary of state: The event took place at the Newseum, which is on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington between the Capitol and the White House. The District is a blue jurisdiction that turned out 91 percent for President Obama in the 2012 election, and it’s surrounded by places like Arlington County, Va., and Montgomery County, Md. — also very blue spots. When asked whether the Clinton camp played any role in how the town hall interview was presented, Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill responded, “this was entirely [CNN's] show, so you should talk to them about it.” To add “energy” to its show (attended by the Erik Wemple Blog), CNN deployed an enthusiastic stage director who coached the audience to applaud at various...(Read Full Post)