Even without the press, the convention goes on.
In ordinary times, to crib from a veteran political journalist I was chatting with this week, a presidential-nominating convention is “part high school reunion, part country fair, and part fashion show, interrupted occasionally by genuine moments of news and history. It features three things most beloved by journalists: schmoozing, free booze, and proximity to what feels like real action.”. “No one’s there.
Weigel, who is a regular at political extravaganzas covered by the press, is one of just two journalists on the ground in Milwaukee for the, which would typically send a few dozen to the Democratic National Convention—or the Republican one for that matter—as well as setting up its own venue to host live interviews and mixers and photo ops and the like.
“It’s totally unrecognizable from what it usually is,” Weigel told me. “There’s just not stuff that reporters can go to. There’s not even media badges to pick up.” If COVID-19 didn’t exist, Milwaukee would be a media circus right now, crawling with hundreds of journalists and journalist-adjacent types as they bounced around from this hotel to that drinks thing to the convention floor and back again, channeling all of the pomp and FOMO into scene-y dispatches and caffeinated cable-news segments. Instead, the official 2020 convention site is a ghost town.
As with so many IRL functions that we’ve realized can actually run smoothly in a remote situation—producing newscasts, putting together magazines and newspapers, etc.—it seems to be working, even if it’s not ideal. There’s something to be said for the perch of a podium and the raw energy of cheering crowds, but the lack of those things didn’t stop
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
The Democratic National Convention gets underwayAs the coronavirus continues to spread across the U.S., the Democratic National Convention goes virtual
Read more »
When Conventions Have MatteredEven if nothing is actually decided at the conventions, they still shine a spotlight on the parties, illuminating emerging factions and up-and-coming politicians, setting the stage for—and creating—the future of each party. More, via FiveThirtyEight:
Read more »
No parties, no commutes — California Democrats reflect on highs and lows of virtual conventionDemocratic convention: California is home to the biggest and most powerful delegation at the DNC. This year's virtual event is bittersweet for many.
Read more »
How racial issues will define the 2020 presidential electionAs the nation reckons with its complicated racial history, issues that impact communities of color are taking center stage in the platforms of each major political party.
Read more »