A deliberate attempt on the part of the major network
news organizations to live in denial and deny Sen.
John F. Kerry (D-Mekong Delta) the typical
post-convention bounce? Will they keep Al Gore's
speech off the air? Will they keep Bill Clinton's
speech off the air? "Not newsworthy"? If that is the
rationale how do they explain the week-long 24x7
coverage of Reagan's passing? "Tightly scripted
events"? Why cover any of the increasingly unhinged
and incredibly shrinking _resident's "press
conferences" then? How about the air-craft carrier
"Mission Accomplished" stunt? Don't delude yourself.
If the increasingly unhinged and incredibly shrinking
_resident were still *unbeatable* (i.e. unexposed) and
not an international pariah at the rotten head of a
failed administraion, they would be delivering wall to
wall coverage. They do not want several nights
prime-time reading of the INDICTMENT against the Bush
cabal. They have got to keep Bill Clinton and Al Gore
off the air waves. They cannot put Humpty-Dumpty back
together again, so they are trying to duck the whole
story. Do not be surprised if something awful happens
somewhere to take the acceptance speeches of JFK and
his running mate off the air. Do not be surprised if
something "newsworthy" happens (e.g., the exit of
Cheney)at the Bush abomination's convention and it
gets bonus coverage. It's the Media, Stupid.
Geoff Earle, The Hill: The major TV networks are
planning to cut coverage at the political conventions,
ignoring major speeches early in the week. The
Republican and Democratic parties hope to nudge the
networks into more live coverage, but broadcasters
have concluded that there will be little news to
report.
“They are very tightly choreographed events,” said the
spokeswoman. “There is virtually no news that is made
at the conventions any more.”
Sources say each networks will likely reduce coverage
from four years ago, even though coverage in 2000
already was scaled back from historic levels. Networks
could provide as little as an hour of live coverage on
the penultimate nights (Wednesdays), with perhaps two
hours for the Thursday finale.
Break the Bush Cabal Stranglehold on the "US
Mainstream News Media," Show Up for Democracy in 2004:
Defeat Bush (again!)
http://www.thehill.com/news/063004/tv.aspx
June 30, 2004
TV to snub conventions
Party angst as networks plan to scale back coverage in
Boston and New York
By Geoff Earle
The major TV networks are planning to cut coverage at
the political conventions, ignoring major speeches
early in the week. The Republican and Democratic
parties hope to nudge the networks into more live
coverage, but broadcasters have concluded that there
will be little news to report.
“We know we’re going to cover the nomination and the
[nominee’s] speech,” said one network’s spokeswoman,
but “we’re not sure about the first two days.”
Previously, networks covered each day of the
convention.
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and President Bush have
already locked up their nominations, so the networks
don’t feel obliged to cover the four-day windup to
their acceptance speeches.
“They are very tightly choreographed events,” said the
spokeswoman. “There is virtually no news that is made
at the conventions any more.”
Sources say each networks will likely reduce coverage
from four years ago, even though coverage in 2000
already was scaled back from historic levels. Networks
could provide as little as an hour of live coverage on
the penultimate nights (Wednesdays), with perhaps two
hours for the Thursday finale.
This is a significant challenge for candidates. Kerry
must use the convention to define himself before a
national audience, presenting his carefully packaged
image as a veteran and a leader, and overcome
characterizations in Bush’s TV ads that he is a
flip-flopper, observers say.
Bush, whose approval ratings dropped to 48 percent in
the latest Gallup poll, needs his convention to
reestablish his credentials on terrorism, security,
and the economy, and counteract any post-convention
“bounce” by Kerry. Harry Truman is the only president
to win reelection despite a June approval rating below
50 percent.
Democrats and Republicans will continue talks with the
networks this week and plead for more coverage
“We are gathering information, talking to the
networks,” said Peggy Wilhide, communications director
for the Democratic convention in Boston. “The final
decisions rest with them as to how much they will
cover. We’re trying to make it as attractive as
possible…”
But Democrats are already turning elsewhere: “We have
done a lot of outreach to non-traditional [media]
outside of the traditional big five,” said Wilhide.
Black Entertainment Television will be broadcasting
nightly from Boston’s Fleet Center. The Spanish
language Univision will have a correspondent there.
MTV, Comedy Central and ESPN will also be producing
convention shows.
The cable political network C-SPAN plans
gavel-to-gavel coverage from the convention floor, as
it has in the past. The Fox News Channel, CNN and
MSNBC, and Internet coverage can fill some of the void
left by the withdrawing networks. The proliferation of
media has given the networks an excuse to scale back
coverage, observers add.
Don Ritchie, associate Senate historian, said: “The
major networks … make more money when they have
comedies and ‘Law and Order’ on than when they have
politics on. That’s the sad part of it.”
If the networks skip the first half of the convention,
they would miss events likely to create buzz in
Washington. Democrats are counting on a prime-time
speech by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) to excite the
party’s base. Former President Bill Clinton, Sen.
Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), former Vice President Al
Gore and presidential
candidate the Rev. Al Sharpton will all speak.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R), first lady
Laura Bush, and California Gov. Arnold Schwartzenegger
are scheduled to speak during the first two days of
the GOP convention in New York.
The networks usually provide equal amounts of coverage
to the Republican and Democratic conventions. NBC, CBS
and ABC each gave 15 hours to the 1992 conventions, 12
hours in 1996, and eight and a half hours in 2000,
according to the Vanishing Voter project at Harvard’s
Kennedy School of Government.
Nielsen Media Research estimated that 20 million
people, or 15 million households, watched network,
CNN, MSNBC and FOX coverage of the 2000 Democratic
convention. About 19 million people, or 14 million
households, watched the 2000 Republican convention.
On the final night of the 1996 Democratic convention,
about 27 million people watched combined coverage by
the networks, PBS, CNN and the Family Channel. The
number was 25 million for the Republicans.
In 1960, each network devoted four to nine hours of
continuous nightly coverage. At the 1972 Democratic
convention, ABC coverage began in prime time and ran
until 4:45 a.m. on Monday, midnight on Tuesday, 12:30
a.m. on Wednesday and 3:40 a.m. on Thursday, Nielsen
says.
But in 1996, ABC’s Ted Koppel walked out of the
Republican convention, comparing it to an
“infomercial.”
After 1960, both parties started awarding a greater
share of convention delegates through the primary
voting process, and conventions ceased to be the forum
where presidential tickets were brokered.
“They are much less important than everyone thinks …
unless you own a hotel,” said Rep. Barney Frank
(D-Mass.).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
© 2004 The Hill
733 Fifteenth Street, NW Suite 1140
Washington, DC 20005
202-628-8500 tel | 202-628-8503 fax