Blogging from Boston, Day One
I was a little envious when I read that the DNC was giving out credentials to bloggers for this year's convention. Maybe if I had just blogged harder last spring, or come up with a more clever name for my blog (note clever new blog name), or maybe if I had actually continued to blog between April 11 and, well, right now, I might have had a chance.
But as the first day convention missives from the Boston Bloggers reveal, they could have covered the story better by sitting at home with basic cable and letting traditional journalists deal with the dreariness of actually going through the ordeal of attending the convention. That's the way I felt when I attended the 1992 Democratic National Convention in New York.
There is no real story in Boston. It is a stage-set for a television extravaganza, where thousands of delegates must be moved into place and kept there during prime time. It's actually a good thing for the hapless local party workers that prime-time coverage is down to an hour or two each night, because they don't have to sit in the convention hall for so long. It's no big deal to have empty seats in the hall when the TV cameras are turned off. Otherwise, it's excruciatingly boring (and usually hot, even in the smoke-free air-conditioned era). All an average Joe or Jane Delegate can do is chit-chat with fellow delegates (probably a good thing, as it cements ties among these party activists when they return home), try to spot celebrities, and, if all else fails, listen to obscure but symbolic speakers rattle on.
For the average delegate, going to the convention is like going on one of those bank club vacations where you always have to wear your nametag and all of your time is scheduled, much of it moving from this place to that. Your day begins with a Delegation Breakfast at the hotel, attended by several speakers, usually an in-state politician or two plus a visiting celebrity. It continues perhaps with a delegation outing of some sort, followed by a luncheon outside the hotel. Accounting for logistics/travel time, this brings us to mid-afternoon, at which time, delegates have a couple of hours to have dinner and get ready to go to the hall for that night's big show. At 11 p.m., the convention recesses and delegations usually have one or two late-night party options. Mostly hung-over, they do it all again for three more days, until they roll home on Friday to sleep it off for the weekend.
But as the first day convention missives from the Boston Bloggers reveal, they could have covered the story better by sitting at home with basic cable and letting traditional journalists deal with the dreariness of actually going through the ordeal of attending the convention. That's the way I felt when I attended the 1992 Democratic National Convention in New York.
There is no real story in Boston. It is a stage-set for a television extravaganza, where thousands of delegates must be moved into place and kept there during prime time. It's actually a good thing for the hapless local party workers that prime-time coverage is down to an hour or two each night, because they don't have to sit in the convention hall for so long. It's no big deal to have empty seats in the hall when the TV cameras are turned off. Otherwise, it's excruciatingly boring (and usually hot, even in the smoke-free air-conditioned era). All an average Joe or Jane Delegate can do is chit-chat with fellow delegates (probably a good thing, as it cements ties among these party activists when they return home), try to spot celebrities, and, if all else fails, listen to obscure but symbolic speakers rattle on.
For the average delegate, going to the convention is like going on one of those bank club vacations where you always have to wear your nametag and all of your time is scheduled, much of it moving from this place to that. Your day begins with a Delegation Breakfast at the hotel, attended by several speakers, usually an in-state politician or two plus a visiting celebrity. It continues perhaps with a delegation outing of some sort, followed by a luncheon outside the hotel. Accounting for logistics/travel time, this brings us to mid-afternoon, at which time, delegates have a couple of hours to have dinner and get ready to go to the hall for that night's big show. At 11 p.m., the convention recesses and delegations usually have one or two late-night party options. Mostly hung-over, they do it all again for three more days, until they roll home on Friday to sleep it off for the weekend.
posted by JFH @ 5:30 PM
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