Final Thoughts: McCain and Me

It's been a week since the start of the convention and we all had the weekend to digest what happened at the RNC. Having some time to reflect and hear the analysis, it seems like last week was good for both John McCain and me.

I will leave the analysis of the convention's impact on the horse race to others and certainly other blogs but on a personal note, it was a great experience. During the past week, I couldn't help but notice so many top journalists and seasoned politicos saying "this is my first convention." Therefore, as a kid just out of college, to have already attended a national political convention as a member of the media is quite an honor. I know I will look back at this assignment for the rest of my career.

The experience has also energized my interest in covering politics. I have always been a political junkie but the RNC reminded me how much I love following the process and hope to cover it in depth in the future. In closing, I hope you have enjoyed this blog as much as I have putting it together. A special thanks to my reporter for asking me to be his producer and dealing with me for five long days.

Here's to many more conventions in my future and many more blogs charting my experiences at them.

Cheers,

Shawn

The Party's Over

We went back to shoot our final on-camera reports for Friday's morning show a couple hours later.  In no time, the Xcel Energy Center had begun the process of returning to it's normal form. The clean up crew was working on getting all of the (popped) balloons into the trash.  Chairs were being folded and the red carpet started to disappear.  We incorporated the new look of the X into our work as it was unavoidable to pretend that the convention was still happening.  

I also shot some on-camera reports and we had to search all over the arena to find the right angle and background for a story from earlier in the week that I wanted to "front" as they say in the industry.  It has been quite a week.  I will have some "final thoughts" and post my reel showcasing some of the stories we did this week soon.

After the Speech

Planning for the worst, we headed down early but to our surprise got onto the floor with no problem.  We were able to get our shots and have a decent view of Sen. John McCain's acceptance speech.  The entire time, I was constantly looking up at the balloons hung above the arena.  I had seen the balloons drop on TV before and was anticipating the moment when they would start to fall on top of us.

The first set of balloons pleased the entire crowd including my reporter and myself.  We knew this was the official sign of a convention celebrating the nomination of it's candidate and we were glad to experience it first hand.  But the balloons kept coming and there was a second and third drop.  By now we were in a sea of balloons up to our chest.  There were even moments when we we could barely see because they were all around us.  I even had trouble breathing at one point.  But certain members of the crowd as well as Xcel staff waisted no time in starting to pop the balloons.  Below is a balloon drop slideshow.

It took quite some time for the floor to clear up and for us to shoot our final on-camera reports but we did one final interview with a delegate and got all of our elements for the 11 p.m. newscast.  We even shot a promo for the station featuring Nightline's Terry Moran.  His advice to aspiring journalists, "love what you do" and "know your stuff" if you want to be in this business.  By the time we left the floor, the party was dying down and clean up began.

Convention Extra: Thursday Edition

In the final edition of "Convention Extra" a look at the before and after of one of the most important parts of the week, the balloon drop.  Here is a look at the balloons ready to be dropped from high above the arena.  

They were put in place before the RNC even started and will be released after Sen. John McCain's speech tonight.  Here's the "before" picture, stay tuned for several "after" shots.

The Science of a Speech

Many people say there is an art to giving a speech but there is also a science.  All of the speeches given in the past two weeks have used the same technology to make their speakers look good.  Directly below the cameras the person on stage

 

looks into is a plasma TV that acts as a TelePrompTer.  In addition to that, there are two pieces of tinted glass that have projectors below them.  These allow the man or woman at the podium to turn and move as they speak but not give up the use of a prompter.  Many wonder how the process works so I thought it would be worth shedding some light before the most important speech of this convention takes place tonight.

Wrapping Up the RNC

We had trouble finding a new story today.  The Oregon delegation had a breakfast with Dick Army, former Texas Congressman and former House Majority Leader.  But we had a similar event yesterday so we thought it would be better to look back at what the delegates did this week and have them preview what Sen. John McCain needs to say tonight when he accepts his party's nomination for president.

Right now we are finishing up our piece for the 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. newscasts.  We have fresh sound from two delegates and will use our video from the past three days to recap the week. We were also on the floor when McCain came out to check out the setup for tonight's speech, featuring a new stage.  It will give the hall a more intimate feel and offer many delegates an up close view of the senator. Normally we don't get to the Xcel Energy Center this early but we had to wait in line yesterday and today's schedule has been moved up so we are glad to have the extra time inside.

Tonight we will go to floor and try to catch most of McCain's speech, the balloons falling, and of course reaction from Oregon delegates.

Convention Extra: Wednesday Edition

I didn't want to limit the scope of this segment but once again I have picked a food item.  It is fitting though that on the day Gov. Sarah Palin accepted her party's nomination for vice president, everyone wanted to get their hands on one of these.  A McCain-Palin water bottle, today's Convention Extra.

3 in 3: Part Three

For the first time at this convention, we had to wait in line just to get on the floor.  We were told there were no available passes just 30 minutes before Gov. Sarah Palin was to address the hall.  At 9:20 p.m. CT, with about 15 minutes until the governor would come to the podium we got onto the floor and worked our way through a packed crowd.  

We couldn't even see the V.P. Nominee until everyone put their signs away and sat down.  As the hall listened to her speech, it was exciting to think that you were in the presence of history in the making but our mind was elsewhere.  I knew that as soon as the speech was over, we needed to get someone from Oregon to tell us what they thought and shoot some on-camera reports so we could get back to our media workspace in time to finish for the 11 p.m. newscast in Bend.  

But more technology problems with our equipment and the official role call delayed us and forced us to wait.  We had less than an hour to finish our piece for the late evening newscast and barely got it to them before the start of their show.

3 in 3: Part Two

At the Minneapolis Convention Center, we met up with Oregon delegates as they did their part to create more than 80,000 comfort kits for those affected by Hurricane Gustav.  With good video and sound in our hands from the event, we were ready to make our way to St. Paul.  But we didn't have any money for parking.  

My ATM card didn't work inside the convention center and my reporter could not remember his pin so we began a wild goose chase for another ATM. Everyone knew of an ATM but couldn't give us correct directions. Entering and exiting every building as we moved away from the convention center, we tried to find an ATM while carrying all of our equipment around downtown.  Once we got into a hotel with an ATM, several blocks later, I tried my card again.  Tired of running and frustrated with the time we had lost, I was told by this ATM what the one back in the convention center could not, my card had expired. 

Parking was eight dollars, my reporter and I had four between us but with no way to get more cash we got desperate.  We begged the parking gate attendant to let us through and he did after taking our four and writing down my reporter's address in order to guarantee he would get the remaining four.  

Two hours until we needed to have our piece in Bend with nothing written or edited, we made our way to the Xcel Energy Center. Our script was written in the car but we lost a good thirty minutes walking to the X and getting inside.  Mult-tasking like we had never done before, our story got to Bend as it turned 5 p.m. on the west coast.  We took a breath, relaxed, and prepared for Part Three: The VP acceptance speech.

3 in 3: Part One

Our third day at the convention can be separated into three very different parts.  We began the day at the hotel of the Oregon delegation.  They had a caucus where they heard from two war heros and three lawmakers all supporting John McCain.  The delegates told us how they were both inspired and "revved up" to swing Oregon for the Republicans after hearing from the five men who spoke early in the afternoon.  From there we went to downtown Minneapolis for Part Two of our day, where several delegations came to the city's convention center to make relief packages for the Gulf Coast.

Convention Extra: Tuesday Edition

On the floor of the convention while we were shooting on-camera reports for the 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. newscasts, the Republican Party of Oregon chairman showed us a special gift he had for Sen. John McCain from the state or Oregon.  It turns out that the person responsible for getting anyone on the cover of a Wheaties box if from the Beaver State.  On Thursday, the party chairman hopes to present the box to the Senator when he addresses the convention.  The next president will be our nation's 44th commander-in-chief and since the Republicans hope that person will be McCain, it is fitting they put the number "44" on that special edition Wheaties box, today's Convention Extra.

Party Politics

Day Two was a return to the true purpose of the convention as the night's speakers began the contrast between their candidate and Sen. Barack Obama.  But for my effort it was more of the same.  I was unable to step away from another busy day and so must recap our day at the end of the night.

We started our day on some train tracks as the Oregon delegation attended a luncheon hosted by the BNSF railway.  We spoke to Republicans from the state who in many ways were getting on track for the purpose of their party.

We then made our way to the X to prepare for what many called the true first day of the convention.  Our efforts for the 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. newscasts finished smoothly.  We enjoyed the downtime before we made our way to the floor.  We waited to get special media passes as the president spoke and were walking the convention's red carpet as Fred Thompson addressed the hall.

Making our way to the first open spot we saw, next to the Pennsylvania delegation, we walked by the VIP seating.  In one row, President George H. W. Bush and his wife, Barbara; were with Cindy McCain and the families of the night's speakers.  As Thompson spoke, I couldn't help but notice he had a nice tie.  Later on my reporter and I took a picture with a fellow trojan and reporter on assignment at the convention, Elex Michaelson.  I think you will see why I liked Thompson's tie here.

As Sen. Lieberman ended his speech we quickly grabbed sound from a delegate and were ready to end our day.  But it took us so many takes to get the on-camera reports needed for our 11 p.m. piece.  We barely got back to the media workspace before 10 p.m. PT.  We had less than hour to get our story written, edited, and sent to Bend.  It made it on time but it made us stay at the X until 1 a.m. CT.  I think we are likely to leave even later on Day Three when Gov. Sarah Palin takes the RNC stage.

Back to Business

We are about to head over to an event honoring the Oregon delegation as the second session appears to be more like that of a political convention.  The delegates will be arriving at the X around 6 p.m. and we will be there to get their reaction to speeches from Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and President George W. Bush.  Look for more posts as Day Two progresses instead of one long post at the end of the night.

Convention Extra: Monday Edition

Each night I want to share one extra aspect of the convention you might not otherwise know about that is a little on the lighter side.  Given the news of the day and the scaled down convention, I think this will be an enjoyable way to end each day.

For the first edition, let's go inside the media goodie bag.  That's right, we all got goodie bags.  Nothing too fancy, but a mix of useful gifts and endless promotion.  There is an RNC water bottle, an umbrella (which may come in handy tomorrow) as well as coupons and attempts to get you to spend money around the Twin Cities.  But my favorite has to be the limited convention edition of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, today's Convention Extra.

Shortened Session, Long Day

Day One of the convention was also our first day actually getting a chance to move around St. Paul.  It was eventful in many ways: I ran into a classmate from USC, walked through tear gas, and was interviewed by China Central Television (CCTV).  All that plus contributing to each of the newscasts back in Bend on what was a "shortened session."  

 

My reporter and I didn't meet up until 3 p.m. CT but some how managed to crank out our first assignment in less than three hours for Bend's 5 p.m. newscast.  We also contributed to the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts as well as the morning show for tomorrow but it was no easy task.

Finding our way to the Xcel Energy Center (or the X) was problematic.  Once we got there, we had to park far away.  On the way up to the site of the convention, we ended up near a restricted part of downtown with heavy S.W.A.T. presence.  All of a sudden we had a horrible taste in our mouth and our eyes were burning.  We turned around like everyone else on the street after realizing tear gas was in the air and continued toward the X. 

We were about half-way there when we realized we left our station laptop and had to go back.  At this point we knew we wouldn't make our deadline if we waited to get inside for a story.  Looking around, we saw the mess that was complicating matters: heavy security and traffic.  We decided to produce a piece for the 5 p.m. show just on the conditions outside.  

With all the elements needed for our first deadline: video, sound from a local resident, and on-camera reports; we made our way inside the X.  As we got closer, our senses had another surprise, this one much better.  We heard the voice of one of our fellow Trojans, working the conventions for USC's Annenberg School, screaming our names.  She was with two of her colleagues from the School's Center on Communication Leadership, which is moderating discussions about politics and the media at both conventions.

Once we got to the RNC, there was only half the time originally 

budgeted for producing our first piece and sending it back to Bend.  During those 30 precious minutes, we were approached by a reporter from CCTV.  She wanted to know about our

experience on Day One but was taking time away from the editing process.  I told my reporter to get back to work while I continued talking to her.  As someone who knows how hard it is to get interviews for pieces, I couldn't say "no" to a friendly request for sound.  She got her interview and we finished on time.

For the remaining newscasts, we incorporated the themes of the day, "Service and "Country First," and mentioned the few who spoke about those topics from the floor of the convention. As we were wrapping for the day from inside an empty convention hall, we saw some of our favorite network correspondents summarizing the day and what was ahead for tomorrow.  We were glad to hear that they believed the second day would move closer to that of a normal political convention.  Which means Day Two will likely be more exciting but also more of a challenge.