Debate watching 101

Kathleen Hall Jamieson, a prominent professor of political communication, suggests 7 things to do when watching political debates. They’re great ideas, but it would take a concerted effort to do them all, and my hunch is that most people watch the debates to get a “sense” of the candidates.

I'm actually more interested in people thinking about questions like: which candidates are present, and which are not, and why? what is the format of the "debate" and who gets to decide what questions get asked? who is sponsoring the debate and is it commercial-free? what kinds of "spin" have the media "framed" the debate with? (the pre-coverage, for example).