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.