Monday, July 26, 2004
Convention Notes, Night 1
What the heck. I watched most of the first night of the DNC - at least the major speakers. And I'm proud to say I did it on C-SPAN. C-SPAN respects viewers in a way that the news networks don't. For years, I have chafed at the condescending, sound-byte way by which networks have covered the conventions. C-SPAN is the glorious exception to the rule of reducing coverage. They give you the event gavel to gavel. And as an added plus, Chris Matthews is nowhere in sight.
The three main network anchors were recently featured in a panel discussion on convention coverage at Harvard. They were memorably upbraided by PBS's Jim Lehrer:
Also, as reported in Boston Globe, the anchors objected that the parties are not making the conventions newsworthy and need to rethink them. Lehrer responded:
Nothing I can write would be praise enough for Lehrer. Bless him.
The networks have been pulling this crap for years, except they are the architects of a vicious circle. They narrow down the amount of time they give to the convention and the parties scramble to fill it with the optimal content. Then the networks narrow it down again on the basis of the artificiality of the conventions.
All this is a narrow guise to allow the networks to broadcast shitty reality shows (Trading Spouses) and reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond and King of Queens. Check your local listings to see what your affiliates are showing.
The federal government gives networks a sweetheart deal to broadcast on the public airwaves. The least the networks could do is take a break from summer reruns to give the conventions their due.
But enough of this rant; on to the convention itself.
The highlight of course was Bill Clinton, who managed to fire up the crowd, eloquently praise Kerry and ridicule the Bush administration. People in the audience were crying. Clinton spoke with a real degree of candor - pausing to admit that he had sought to stay out of Vietnam before emphatically praising Kerry's service there. And he was funny. There was something very amusing about his admission that he now resides among the 1% of the electorate favored by Republican tax breaks. Clinton knocked the ball out of the park; and one hopes that middle-of-the-road viewers will think he had some good points.
But Al Gore did pretty well as well. He was in a good humor, he held back from the more scathing (and bitter-sounding) criticisms of the Bush administration and chose instead to take the high road. This was the Gore we saw on the night of his concession, that grim December evening in 2000. Touchingly, he thanked Clinton for giving him the opportunity to serve as VP - reminding us of the better days of their partnership. There was also a nice direct appeal to Nader voters - did they still think the two candidates were the same? Nice work, Al. Still, don't say anything more about the Florida senate race.
Jimmy Carter's speech was nice enough, but I don't think he said enough about Kerry. His critique of the administration was much the same as everyone else's.
Hillary delivered a nicely emphatic speech - perhaps it was a bit too short. What came home best from her delivery was her experience staring at Ground Zero. Being able to invoke 9/11 is a must for Democrats, since the Republicans will be wrapping themselves in it in a month's time.
All in all, a solid first night. I look forward to seeing how Barack Obama does as keynote speaker tomorrow.
What the heck. I watched most of the first night of the DNC - at least the major speakers. And I'm proud to say I did it on C-SPAN. C-SPAN respects viewers in a way that the news networks don't. For years, I have chafed at the condescending, sound-byte way by which networks have covered the conventions. C-SPAN is the glorious exception to the rule of reducing coverage. They give you the event gavel to gavel. And as an added plus, Chris Matthews is nowhere in sight.
The three main network anchors were recently featured in a panel discussion on convention coverage at Harvard. They were memorably upbraided by PBS's Jim Lehrer:
- "We're about to elect a president of the United States at a time when we have young people dying in our name overseas, we just had a report from the 9/11 commission which says we are not safe as a nation, and one of these two groups of people is going to run our country. The fact that you three networks decided it was not important enough to run in prime time, the message that gives the American people is huge."
As the lecture hall echoed with applause and the three men bristled, Mr. Lehrer added, 'As a citizen, it bothers me.''
Also, as reported in Boston Globe, the anchors objected that the parties are not making the conventions newsworthy and need to rethink them. Lehrer responded:
- We're not in the business of telling the parties how to run the conventions. We're in the news business.
Nothing I can write would be praise enough for Lehrer. Bless him.
The networks have been pulling this crap for years, except they are the architects of a vicious circle. They narrow down the amount of time they give to the convention and the parties scramble to fill it with the optimal content. Then the networks narrow it down again on the basis of the artificiality of the conventions.
All this is a narrow guise to allow the networks to broadcast shitty reality shows (Trading Spouses) and reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond and King of Queens. Check your local listings to see what your affiliates are showing.
The federal government gives networks a sweetheart deal to broadcast on the public airwaves. The least the networks could do is take a break from summer reruns to give the conventions their due.
But enough of this rant; on to the convention itself.
The highlight of course was Bill Clinton, who managed to fire up the crowd, eloquently praise Kerry and ridicule the Bush administration. People in the audience were crying. Clinton spoke with a real degree of candor - pausing to admit that he had sought to stay out of Vietnam before emphatically praising Kerry's service there. And he was funny. There was something very amusing about his admission that he now resides among the 1% of the electorate favored by Republican tax breaks. Clinton knocked the ball out of the park; and one hopes that middle-of-the-road viewers will think he had some good points.
But Al Gore did pretty well as well. He was in a good humor, he held back from the more scathing (and bitter-sounding) criticisms of the Bush administration and chose instead to take the high road. This was the Gore we saw on the night of his concession, that grim December evening in 2000. Touchingly, he thanked Clinton for giving him the opportunity to serve as VP - reminding us of the better days of their partnership. There was also a nice direct appeal to Nader voters - did they still think the two candidates were the same? Nice work, Al. Still, don't say anything more about the Florida senate race.
Jimmy Carter's speech was nice enough, but I don't think he said enough about Kerry. His critique of the administration was much the same as everyone else's.
Hillary delivered a nicely emphatic speech - perhaps it was a bit too short. What came home best from her delivery was her experience staring at Ground Zero. Being able to invoke 9/11 is a must for Democrats, since the Republicans will be wrapping themselves in it in a month's time.
All in all, a solid first night. I look forward to seeing how Barack Obama does as keynote speaker tomorrow.
