Because of extensive reporting at last week’s Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, we know what the politicians and the delegates thought about the proceedings. But I wondered what a reporter might think of all the activity swirling around in the convention hall as he did his job. On one of the many long bus rides the California delegation had to take from its hotel to the convention center, I turned the tables and interviewed reporter John Myers from San Francisco’s National Public Radio station, KQED.
Myers is a respected veteran covering California politics as Sacramento Bureau Chief for KQED. In addition to his radio duties, he also blogs on politics at his Capitol Notes website.
Last week’s convention was the third one Myers covered. Previously, he reported on the Democratic Conventions in New York in 1992 and Los Angeles in 2000.
Myers said conventions present obstacles for a reporter, especially because of timing. “Things happen late into the night. Editors demand more and more material on their schedule, not mine. Staging of a convention can be difficult. The place where I have work space in the Xcel center is almost a 30 minute walk to the floor.”
And being a radio reporter offers its own special challenges. “As a radio reporter
you often end up recording your narration, the voice part of the story, in strange places not to sound echo-y. Under a blanket on the bed in the hotel has been normal. I put the bedspread over my head with the microphone because it sound proofs it.”
During her speech to the convention, vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin took a swipe at the media for the coverage of her personal life after she exploded onto the political scene. Palin’s comment caused a short, derisive demonstration from the audience directed at members of the media. I asked Myers if he felt the people he interviewed at the convention viewed him as the enemy. “Maybe it’s my optimism, I’ll say no. I think there is a healthy dose of skepticism on both sides. On the part of people you talk to and on part of the reporters who talk to people, but I guess that’s reasonable. That’s fair.”
Interviewing convention attendees can be easier for a reporter on one hand, says Myers, because the people who come to a convention are excited to be there and usually have things to say. However, there is a down side as well, he said. That is the attempt by the campaigns to control the message.
“It’s frustrating because if, as a reporter, you’re going to use the talking points you’re only going to use it once. Its not that I’m unwilling to have somebody make the point but when I go to four people and it’s the same point then we’ve gone nowhere and I feel most people are smart enough that they can say how they feel that doesn’t distract from the message without being so programmed.”
Myers noted on one occasion little slips of paper were left on delegates’ chairs instructing the delegates what to chant, how to chant and how to hold a sign.
Myers was not on the convention floor constantly. National reporters with networks had floor passes that allowed them on the floor at all times. Other reporters had to use a rotating floor pass that allowed them on the convention floor for only a certain amount of time, usually thirty to forty minutes. Initially, the pass was limited to only fifteen minutes for the Palin speech, which was in high demand. Myers resisted this change in the procedure and other reporters joined in. Soon the RNC officials relented and allowed the reporters who were in line to receive the rotating pass to remain on the floor for the entire speech.
Myers said he wanted to be on the floor for the Palin speech because he was curious and wanted to be part of history. “The longer I do this job, especially the longer I just cover politics full time, the more I evaluate them in terms of stagecraft and messaging and less on what I think about the opinion they’re making. Her speech last night was fantastic. Can she deliver that speech everyday for the next eight weeks? No. Because at a certain point people are going to want to hear her say more.”
Myers certainly relished being on the scene. “I am taken by the whole spectacle of the thing. That’s a lot of fun to watch. Watching people be so passionate about something, that’s a great time, that’s fun.”