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Day One of the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Actually, it was the day before Day One. Sunday, the Pepsi Center belonged to the security folks and all the technical workers like me getting ready for the big event. No delegates with funny hats, no politicians, just a lot of workers wandering around. Lots of testing of equipment, lights, rehearsals for security.
I waited outside in the "Blue Zone" for my credentials for quite a while, and I bonded with a crew of journalists from the Netherlands. They were a little pissed because the weather was unseasonably hot yesterday, and they thought that Denver was located in the mountains. Sorry fellas, we're not Vail. One guy wanted to know how long it would take him to drive to the Grand Canyon from Denver, and he was unhappy when I told him it was at least 12 hours each way. I had a good laugh when they all started mocking a German television reporter who was doing a live shot nearby. My sense is that all the European journalists make fun of the Germans who sort of "bark" their way through their reports. There are more than 15,000 journalists from all over the world at the convention. The Dutch alone have 41, and they said they feel understaffed.
Security was intense, as you can imagine, but no worse than a Monday morning trip through airport security. At one point, there was a miserable, tiny little protest. The entire security operation closed down – no one in or out until it was over – which pissed off a lot of journalists and TV folks who were trying to get into the complex to get to work.
I'm working in what's called "Studio 08." It's a media tour set-up. So, for the next four days, we will have politicians ranging from small town mayors to the candidate himself coming through. We have three tiny studio set-ups, and the VIPs will be talking to news broadcasts all over the world from there. So, imagine Caroline Kennedy comes through, she sits in a chair, gets mic'd, and then over the course of the next 30 minutes, has 3 minute chats with 9-10 stations around the country: Tampa, Providence, Omaha, etc.
My crew runs the TV operation. My job is fetching water, smiling, and holding back Michelle Obama's hair if she gets sick suddenly. Honestly, I have no idea what my role is. I spent most of yesterday standing around doing nothing.
The convention floor looks amazing, as you would guess. My credentials only allowed me access to the floor of the
convention yesterday, so I took advantage of the situation. I found my fraternity brother, Dave Drees (pictured), who is also at the convention working on a TV crew, and we snapped a few pictures. You had to be careful because reporters were all over the place. If you flashed your camera in the wrong place, CNN's Jessica Yellin might bitch slap you on national television. Serious one, that Jessica. Steer clear of her.The national TV anchors are rock stars – no other way to put it. You should have seen the mob surrounding Anderson Cooper. The guy is like Mick Jagger, except unbelievably handsome. I had always been told that Anderson was a tiny little guy, but it's not true. He's exactly as tall as me at around 5'11", but very slender and elegant (not so much like me). I was carrying a tray of sandwiches when we passed within a foot of each other. He looked at me and smiled. Shameless of him – hitting on me while I'm trying to work!
Donna Brazille (CNN contributor, Al Gore's presidential campaign chair, current superdelegate) is a large woman. Not heavy – large. It's a good thing Broncos coach Mike Shanahan is a Republican, or he might have drafted Brazille to start at linebacker next week.
Katie Couric is really, really pretty. She was incredibly nice to everyone, smiling, joking. Very bright and cheerful. Although, I can see why some of the hard-core journalist types might not take her very seriously. She didn't fit in with the others. She wore little flip-floppy sandals and looked a bit like she was going to a kindergarten picnic while everyone else was dressed like they were attending a corporate function.
CNN and CBS dominate the convention floor. ABC is up in a suite, away from the action on the floor, and NBC must be also. I hope Charlie Gibson comes down to mingle with us a little.
We have the YouTube guys in our suite, and I like them a lot. They look and act like fraternity brothers at a tech school, and I bonded with them immediately. They are planning to buzz around the convention, taping little snippets, then running back to Studio 08 to immediately upload their bits. Should be cool.
I have been very unimpressed with the staff members of the DNC, itself. That crowd has zero sense of humor, which I suppose is understandable. Lots of pressure to do things right. We don't think we'll have to deal with too many of them in Studio 08, but we do have to deal with DNC intern David. Bitchy little queen, that one. I'll have to post a picture of him later in the week.
Wish I had something more exciting to tell you about Day One, but it was pretty dull. The excitement starts today, and Michelle Obama speaks tonight. Tune in.
