The City of Republican Love
Jeff "works" the GOP convention
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2
Work was a breeze by Wednesday, just going through the motions as little deviated from the norm. That's not to say I wasn't having a blast, though, in my work environment and with coworkers.
I didn't see any A-list celebrities, but a few minor ones and the bigwigs of the media were in Philadelphia. Some of those interviewed on our paths in Newsource included: actor Daniel Stern (City Slickers, Home Alone), Comedy Central's Ben Stein and Billy Baldwin, who is famous for . . . well, for being a Baldwin brother.
The women swooned around Billy, both in the booth and in our trailer. Guys being guys, we just shrugged it off and said he's an idiot. While that is true, we still have to tear down others in order to feel more manly. Cavemen would do this, making fun of the dude who invented fire and got all the chicks. So, we stole his invention, beat him over the head, and stole his cavechicks. Hey, what did you expect? We're cavemen.
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". . .and Lord, if you see fit to smite liberals with a plague, be it your will. . ."
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Speaking of Neanderthal women, Melissa and Joan Rivers, self-proclaimed fashion experts, were also at the convention. One of CNN's makeup artists told Monica that mommy Rivers was a real bitch, yelling at everyone and overall just a pill. Why did this not surprise me?
Media celebs and others whom political junkies would be interested in included: 1996 VP candidate Jack Kemp, CNN commentator Mary Matlin, whose cell phone was not turned off beforehand, and Fox News anchor Tony Snow. He was my favorite, taking the time to shake my hand and respond in kind when I told him how much I respected his work. Snow didn't run away or avoid conversation, being very gracious with his time, as I expected.
Catering was lazy today, serving hot dogs and fries for lunch and leftovers at dinner of Monday's steak and Tuesday's sea bass. On the side were tortillas with a Mexican mixture from Monday's lunch. I didn't complain, since they were good the first time, and at least were filling. I guess the caterers brought only so many recipes for the week, and only once did they make cheesesteaks. Tut-tut, what a shame.
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Karen Ann says, "You, too, can work for nothing!"
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Just keeping on the theme of the mid-week ho-hums, I also dealt with the same 'ol, same 'ol reporters and stations on Wednesday.
Since they range from large (KPRC � Houston) to small (Allentown, Pa.), it's fun to compare stations' work. As a life-committed broadcaster, you can tell which are from larger markets and which are smaller operations. The quality of the reporting and packages in big-market stations, as well as the crew being so much more assure of its duties and confidence in their abilities, is apparent in their work. This is only natural since the television news world demands that you start out at a small market to hone your skills, then many hop up the network food chain to larger cities and better-funded stations.
I had another chance to walk up to the F.U. Center and enjoy the rah-rah atmosphere of the Convention, take some photos of the crowd and the main stage as a woman sang the national anthem and ex-quarterback Steve Young gave the invocation. When he was followed by World Wrestling Federation wrestler The Rock, I knew that the GOP was trying too hard.
I was also in the Center to buy a lot of loot. Considering how much souvenirs and refreshments cost in the F.U. Center, the GOP may be trying to repay the national debt in the five days they�re in Philly.
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The Senator wonders if Sam's hair would stay on if he blew on it.
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On the way back to the Newsource trailer I carved a path through Internet Alley, watching Sam Donaldson interview former Wyoming Sen. Alan Simpson live on the Internet.
I couldn�t hear what was being said, even from ten feet away, because people were milling around, going nowhere. Everyone was miffed that ABC planted their Internet booth in the middle of the Alley, and used four cameras for the interview. Thus, when they were on air the crew would try to block you from walking anywhere near the cameras for fear of blocking the shot.
Problem is, that meant that you would be trapped at the ABCnews.com booth, unable to get in or out of the Alley. Being the arrogant CNNer I am, I walked by anyway (under the camera at least), because I was not going to be delegated to by ABC lackeys. Sorry if I interrupted your ten online viewers, but I needed to grab a Bush/Cheney yard sign from www.georgewbush.com.
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Richard's "Survivor" cheering squad.
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I returned to the trailer just in time to catch the last 15 minutes of "Survivor" and watch another popular rumor get blasted. Lazy-Boy representative Gervase was finally voted off. Apparently charm doesn�t get you by everywhere.
All the news on Wednesday night was on the speech of the future vice-president, Dick Cheney. Until then, the news was focusing on former president Gerald Ford's stroke.
Just in case Ford died I sent an obit package back to Atlanta to be aired as soon as he would have passed. CNN has many of these pre-produced packages on those whose death would be big news. You should see the preparations for Ronald Reagan�s death. There are entire pages dedicated to the format for when that happens.
I�m glad Ford didn�t die, for selfish reasons. I don�t want to imagine the amount of stress that would have caused for the last two days of the convention, with the media scrambling to report on two different aspects, which would have meant affiliates buying more windows and thus doubling our workload.
I know it sounds horrible, but you have to understand that I now see life through a news prism. For instance, I was in England at Windsor Castle when Danielle told Dad and me about the Concorde crash in Paris. They mourned the 110+ people who died, but I immediately looked at my watch to see what time it was to determine how busy my coworkers at Headline News were at that moment and how that would boost ratings. It is very difficult to keep a soul in the news business.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 3
I mentioned Internet Alley already, which is only one-half of the three enormous tents erected next to the network trailers at the media compound.
This is where the print journalists and radio shows had their base.
I, however, was more interested in what they could give me, meaning buttons and pins. Collecting these various trinkets was the hobby of the week, and there was much oohing and aahing when you acquired a rare pin or button.
The Benjamin Franklin pins were a rare commodity, scooped up by the weekend, as were most of the good ones. If you were lucky, though, you could still find a New York Times button (my favorite) or an MTV pin (which I never did).
Besides showing off all your buttons, the other way media and delegates could feel good about themselves was by our badges. It may be conceited, but it felt good to walk through Philadelphia wearing the convention badge, showing off your passes. In the F.U. Center I walked through with my CNN badge proudly around my neck, seeing if any delegates would look at me funny since apparently I work for the Clinton News Network. No one said anything, to my disappointment, but a few were glad to see me buying Bush/Cheney items at the gift shops.
By late afternoon on the final day, the native's were restless. The evening was going to be busier, so everyone got everything out of their system with plenty of laughing and pictures before the rush began prior to and following George W. Bush's acceptance speech.
Right before, during and following Bush's speech, work was very hectic as stations tried to hit their satellite windows minutes after he finished speaking so as to be able to have their reporter at the scene during the station's top story.
When Bush finished right at 11, the three major networks stayed with the balloon drop and engaged in liberal commentary until ten minutes after 11, so those who bought windows at 11-11:05 and 11:06-11:11 were piss out of luck, and had to reschedule around those with 11:12-11:17 and 11:18-11:23 windows. Just after midnight it was all over, since our only West Coast affiliates decided not to have live stand-ups for their 11 p.m. newscasts.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 4
My trip by the numbers
100 - Buttons gathered (free and paid for)
97 - Dollars spent on 9 rolls of film (U.K. and Philly)
57 - Boxes of Newsource gear
3 1/2 - Cheesesteaks eaten
1- Convention cups broken by baggage handlers
1- CNN 20th anniversary pins stolen by baggage handlers
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Once the final affiliates� work was finishing up, it was time to party. Boxes of beer were brought out that had been placed in a trash can full of ice, which contributed to plenty of revelry and celebration as the odor of cigar smoke wafted around our trailer. Of course, no liquor for me, I was the designated driver again. And very happy to be such. Remember, it's more fun to watch people who are tipsy than to be so yourself.
There was still some work to do, although not a lot. Some of us took carts up to the F.U. Center in order to bring back equipment from the booths, running down delegates along the way, but for the most part it was the photogs who took care of their equipment. I only brought back a cartload of tripods and boxes.
After 1 it was time to leave the media compound for good, but the party wasn�t over. After returning to the hotel a dozen of us met up in Shay�s room, 613, for some mild amusement. There was plenty of alcohol, cigarettes and I grabbed a six-pack of Sprites before leaving the catering truck to fulfill my liquid needs.
Everyone decided to call it a night at 4 a.m. to attempt to get a few hours of sleep. I, however, decided I would never wake up at 6:30 to meet in the lobby at 7:30. Besides, if I stayed up until returning home I could hop in bed and sleep till midnight, getting back on my work schedule for Saturday night. So I stayed up packing, watching HBO, reading the USA Today and eating animal crackers.
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We�re leaving, on a jet plane. . .
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It was all over but the flight, which was late boarding and late leaving by an hour and a half. It�s a bit disheartening to hear that you�re No. 15 in a line of 22 planes waiting to take off. We became another disturbing stastic, leaving the ground at 11:20 when we were supposed to arrive in Atlanta at 11:30.
It was an uneventful ending, as the rest hopped in taxis to get to the CNN Center and I took the subway north homeward to Dunwoody to rescue my Jeep from parking lot hell, where it sat for three weeks straight. She missed me, I'm sure, but sure was thirsty. That must be why she still drank $15 worth of gas.
Happy Funtime was officially over after two weeks across the pond and a week in Philly. But it didn�t take long to get disillusioned with real life again. When�s the next vacation?
That's it for the write-up, now for the pictures. . .
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