Jon Meacham Click photo for larger image.

Managing editor of Newsweek, Jon Meacham is also the best-selling author of the 2003 book, "Franklin and Winston: An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship." Born and reared in Tennessee, he lives in New York City with his wife and children. Mr. Meacham will be at Town Hall South tomorrow. For more information on next year's lineup, which begins with Andrea Mitchell Oct. 10, call 412-833-8503.

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Q. Has the rivalry between Time and Newsweek been diluted by the proliferation of media outlets?

I think they are a great and noble competitor. I admire Time magazine a great deal for, historically, the role they've played in the country and what they do week in and week out. But I think the rivalry is very much alive and well. At least on my part, it's a very deeply felt competition.

Q. Your thoughts on citizen journalists?

Well, you can't be for the First Amendment, for people who are incorporated, and not be for it for people who aren't. Let a thousand flowers bloom, to use the Chinese metaphor. I also think, as the blogosphere explodes, in an interesting way, that helps a place like Newsweek or your newspaper. Because people have to have some sense of your credibility and your track record when they evaluate the information you report. I do think that established news organizations still have an advantage.

Q. Your thoughts on the Danish cartoons of Mohammed?

You will note that we did not publish them, and I think every organization has to weigh the relevant factors before they publish anything. One would hope that in all cases the right judgment would be arrived at.

Q. So, be sensitive without censoring yourself.

Precisely. Exactly. You put it better than I did. What people don't understand and you can't talk about -- there are often times the right thing to do is not to publish something. But part of what we all do is not talk about it. You don't go out and say, "Hey we just made a very important ethical decision blah blah blah."

Q. Do you think worldwide unrest is, in part, responsible for the low interest in the Olympics?

I noticed the ratings were down. But you could argue that another way and say, "Because things are so unstable wouldn't it be a great time to watch snowboarding." I think the people are finding comfort, finding stability in a variety of ways in terms of entertainment. People can customize their leisure time in a way that makes these big enormous cultural sporting events a little tricker to pull off. Particularly when they go on for so long. Of course, the counter-argument is that I think the Super Bowl had its highest rating in years.

Q. Of course, the Pittsburgh Steelers were playing!

(Laughing) Oh sorry, of course, I forgot where I was talking. Forgive me.

Q. If Franklin and Winston were in power today, how do you think they would be handling world affairs?

It's fun if imprecise. I think one of the things that struck me when I was writing this book in 2001/2002 was how incredibly relevant their problems, their rhetoric and their reactions were to things we were confronting, particularly after Sept. 11. The cooperation, the need for allies -- there was no doubt in either man's mind that they could not do what they needed to do without the other. The courage, the willingness to call evil evil. George W. Bush did not introduce the word evil into political discourse -- that was very much a part of the rhetoric.

Q. Did the media make too much of Vice President Dick Cheney's accidental shooting ?

Well, vice presidents only shoot people every 202 years, so there's simply the precedent question. We haven't done this since Weehawken [N.J., where vice president Aaron Burr killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel in 1804]. There is a fixed narrative about Vice President Cheney in the broad culture of the country, which is, he is tough, secretive, gruff, Gary Cooper with nukes, a figure of a very particular sort.

I think this incident affirms pre-existing assumptions about him. It's a lot like Jimmy Carter and the killer rabbit. Remember that? Remember when he fainted when he was jogging. Well those two incidents were absolutely irrelevant in the long sweep of history, but they affirm a narrative that was taking hold in the politics of the country, which was that he was hapless and worn out. That is what I think is happening with Cheney. I have great empathy. I grew up hunting. I understand it was probably a very shocking and disorienting thing. My instinct would have been to want to fix what is broken. It is unclear what the vice president did.

Q. It might also feed into the perception of some, that the vice president is really pulling all the strings in the White House.

That certainly is part of the configuration. I personally don't believe that. Because I think whatever else one wants to say about George Bush, I think he's quite clear on who's in charge and you could argue whether that's good or bad sometimes (laughing).