At the end of Thursday's extravaganza at Invesco Field, the "Daily Show"'s reporter John Oliver tried to stop people from leaving Mile High Stadium, yelling, "Keep the hope inside! Keep the hope in!"
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
"Daily Show"'s John Oliver says, "Keep the HOPE inside!"
At the end of Thursday's extravaganza at Invesco Field, the "Daily Show"'s reporter John Oliver tried to stop people from leaving Mile High Stadium, yelling, "Keep the hope inside! Keep the hope in!"
Friday, August 29, 2008
Being in Denver and NOT at Invesco Field
Driving through Denver at 6:30 pm was spooky. I hoped to get through on the freeway past Invesco Field before they shut it off. I was too late.
There wasn't anyone around but the folks assigned to close the ramps and the road. They had to recruit everyone and use any old truck with flashers, too, because one ramp was blocked with their street painting truck.
I was shunted off onto a Route 6 westward. Fine, I could exit at any of the big north-south boulevards here and get back to our digs at Regis University.
I was thinking, wow, everyone in Denver must be a Democrat. NO ONE, but NO ONE, was out.
They must all be at Invesco Field.
I exited at a street I'd heard of.
Oh, here's where all of Denver REALLY is.
They're on my boulevard, parked. Occasionally they move a few inches.
An hour or so later, I finally crept from 10th Avenue to 50th Avenue and made my escape. Ahhhh.
There wasn't anyone around but the folks assigned to close the ramps and the road. They had to recruit everyone and use any old truck with flashers, too, because one ramp was blocked with their street painting truck.
I was shunted off onto a Route 6 westward. Fine, I could exit at any of the big north-south boulevards here and get back to our digs at Regis University.
I was thinking, wow, everyone in Denver must be a Democrat. NO ONE, but NO ONE, was out.
They must all be at Invesco Field.
I exited at a street I'd heard of.
Oh, here's where all of Denver REALLY is.
They're on my boulevard, parked. Occasionally they move a few inches.
An hour or so later, I finally crept from 10th Avenue to 50th Avenue and made my escape. Ahhhh.
Jon Stewart and "The Daily Show"
What to do, what to do. I could go sit for 12 hours in the hot sun in Iowa's high-altitude seats at Mile High Field (how DO flatland players catch their breaths?). I could, well, go hiking or shopping. No, that's not okay; I'm at work here. Ah, I'll play the hero, give my Invesco Field pass to a student I know who's dying to go--and I'll fill the empty "fieldwork" slot at "The Daily Show."
Now, I didn't learn all their inside secrets. I'm just going to tell you how it goes for the audiences.
Taping is at about 5 pm Denver time. Stand-bys (and for that, you actually have to print out a "stand-by" pass) are already there when I arrive at 1 pm for my gig. The stand-by line is off to one side with all the equipment trucks and Johnny-on-the-Spots (in a way, not a bad location--about which, more coming up). They're in the sun at first, but they propose a deal where their line is up against a stone wall with a smidgeon of shade. The so-New-York gals honchoing everything agree. Shade it is.
The people with "tickets", which are print-outs from online, stand in a different line. It's longer and it's unabashedly in the sun. For the first few hours, people use huge umbrellas and fold-up chairs and the wise ones brought a picnic or a novel. Then show-time approaches (at 3 pm) and I'm sent down the line with a message. I shout it at intervals.
"Okay, they sent me to tell you the scoop. We get to go into an air-conditioned spot in about 20 minutes." There's cheering. "Now's the time to take all your large items back to your cars. Inside, it's no drinks, no gum, no cameras, no cellphones, no food. AND it's last call for the restroom." (I don't know so I can't tell them, we have about five more last call bathroom breaks, even one after they're seated in the studio. You can't believe how many people suddenly have to go, as soon as you tell them they can't for the next hour.)
The 20 minutes stretch to 40. Meanwhile, people with VIP and SuperVIP passes are "wanded" through security and sent to wait in a makeshift lounge (padded benches added to a hall, closed with black curtains on a portable trellis).
The regular audience and I are wilting.
Some guy comes along with a little golf cart and boxes of promotional t-shirts for a Mexican restaurant. They're grey and they say "Burritos for Obama" and "Tacos for Obama". The supply is marvelously endless and he parks and hands out goodies every very yards. The women and kids want them. The guys aren't quite sure. Taco for Obama? !
We're all wilted like a stir-fried batch of greens when finally, the New Yorkers (wild fun hair, tight jeans, sleeveless t's, and attitude) come out with the "tickets". These are laminated numbers.
I know what you're thinking; don't even try it. First off, they're in weird colors. Second, they don't start at number 1. And third, everyone in line knows EXACTLY who is in front of and behind them by now. After all this time, they're BFFs (best friends forever). Good thing, too, because they'll be sitting together in the holding theater and again in the studio. This operation has to be carefully handled to be strictly fair or you KNOW there would be hard feelings.
Everyone with a legit ticket gets a number, in order. This takes a while, with 300 people now lined up clear around the block.
I'm sent to issue another last call for the bathroom. Lots of people suddenly realize they need to go.
From here, the audience goes through careful security. It's slow and tedious and necessary. After this, location of everyone is known and watched by a cadre of security people. You can imagine why, in these days.
We wait and cool off and review the rules and make a few jokes in a nice cool theater.
Finally, everyone moves, in numerical order, to the studio, in small groups.
I'm not in there yet so I don't know how that's done. I will be upstairs in the balcony with the last folks in the ticket line and the stand-bys who really, really wanted to see the show. Me and the stand-bys will be standing up the whole time. I'm tired but psyched; they're tired but psyched.
The theater has been remade. The sets are/seem super sturdy, nothing like the community theater "flats" of my youth. Sound system is beyond great. Lighting is complex and amazing. Their crews must be the uber-crews! Hundreds of ceiling lights and mics, all doing something useful, aimed in 100s of directions; backlit set elements; hanging screens mounted from the ceiling so the audience can actually see the taped footage that goes with the Stewart anchoring. Hanging mics to capture live audience response... Fantastic!
Now we're in, they practice the downstairs folks with the audience-boom-camera, so no one gets bonked on the head when it cruises over.
A pushy, funny NY comic Paul Mecurio warms the audience up. (Or heats them up, I'm not sure which.) He was great.
We practice cheering. I'm realizing why men like to go to sporting events. Where else can you yell as loud as your voice will let you, without getting arrested or carted off to the loony bin? We're enjoying the yelling when Jon Stewart comes in.
Consumate professional. Funny on the fly as he is on camera. Taller than I expected, even given we know he's tall from television.
Biggest surprise? Something we should all have known. This is a daily show, after all. They're writing it on the fly. Even as Stewart does a segment, they're off at stage right frantically scribbling notes. Between segments, they consult. Once, there's a do-over where a word didn't come out right. That's all though. They could darn near go live. It's professional, it's quick, it's smart, it's well-managed. (No, there are no backstage horror stories to tell. Everyone's working hard to make a great show, but I was around a long time and there was no yelling, no sniping, no none of that.
We loved the show. What can I say? Why else were we there to start with?
Now, I didn't learn all their inside secrets. I'm just going to tell you how it goes for the audiences.
Taping is at about 5 pm Denver time. Stand-bys (and for that, you actually have to print out a "stand-by" pass) are already there when I arrive at 1 pm for my gig. The stand-by line is off to one side with all the equipment trucks and Johnny-on-the-Spots (in a way, not a bad location--about which, more coming up). They're in the sun at first, but they propose a deal where their line is up against a stone wall with a smidgeon of shade. The so-New-York gals honchoing everything agree. Shade it is.
The people with "tickets", which are print-outs from online, stand in a different line. It's longer and it's unabashedly in the sun. For the first few hours, people use huge umbrellas and fold-up chairs and the wise ones brought a picnic or a novel. Then show-time approaches (at 3 pm) and I'm sent down the line with a message. I shout it at intervals.
"Okay, they sent me to tell you the scoop. We get to go into an air-conditioned spot in about 20 minutes." There's cheering. "Now's the time to take all your large items back to your cars. Inside, it's no drinks, no gum, no cameras, no cellphones, no food. AND it's last call for the restroom." (I don't know so I can't tell them, we have about five more last call bathroom breaks, even one after they're seated in the studio. You can't believe how many people suddenly have to go, as soon as you tell them they can't for the next hour.)
The 20 minutes stretch to 40. Meanwhile, people with VIP and SuperVIP passes are "wanded" through security and sent to wait in a makeshift lounge (padded benches added to a hall, closed with black curtains on a portable trellis).
The regular audience and I are wilting.
Some guy comes along with a little golf cart and boxes of promotional t-shirts for a Mexican restaurant. They're grey and they say "Burritos for Obama" and "Tacos for Obama". The supply is marvelously endless and he parks and hands out goodies every very yards. The women and kids want them. The guys aren't quite sure. Taco for Obama? !
We're all wilted like a stir-fried batch of greens when finally, the New Yorkers (wild fun hair, tight jeans, sleeveless t's, and attitude) come out with the "tickets". These are laminated numbers.
I know what you're thinking; don't even try it. First off, they're in weird colors. Second, they don't start at number 1. And third, everyone in line knows EXACTLY who is in front of and behind them by now. After all this time, they're BFFs (best friends forever). Good thing, too, because they'll be sitting together in the holding theater and again in the studio. This operation has to be carefully handled to be strictly fair or you KNOW there would be hard feelings.
Everyone with a legit ticket gets a number, in order. This takes a while, with 300 people now lined up clear around the block.
I'm sent to issue another last call for the bathroom. Lots of people suddenly realize they need to go.
From here, the audience goes through careful security. It's slow and tedious and necessary. After this, location of everyone is known and watched by a cadre of security people. You can imagine why, in these days.
We wait and cool off and review the rules and make a few jokes in a nice cool theater.
Finally, everyone moves, in numerical order, to the studio, in small groups.
I'm not in there yet so I don't know how that's done. I will be upstairs in the balcony with the last folks in the ticket line and the stand-bys who really, really wanted to see the show. Me and the stand-bys will be standing up the whole time. I'm tired but psyched; they're tired but psyched.
The theater has been remade. The sets are/seem super sturdy, nothing like the community theater "flats" of my youth. Sound system is beyond great. Lighting is complex and amazing. Their crews must be the uber-crews! Hundreds of ceiling lights and mics, all doing something useful, aimed in 100s of directions; backlit set elements; hanging screens mounted from the ceiling so the audience can actually see the taped footage that goes with the Stewart anchoring. Hanging mics to capture live audience response... Fantastic!
Now we're in, they practice the downstairs folks with the audience-boom-camera, so no one gets bonked on the head when it cruises over.
A pushy, funny NY comic Paul Mecurio warms the audience up. (Or heats them up, I'm not sure which.) He was great.
We practice cheering. I'm realizing why men like to go to sporting events. Where else can you yell as loud as your voice will let you, without getting arrested or carted off to the loony bin? We're enjoying the yelling when Jon Stewart comes in.
Consumate professional. Funny on the fly as he is on camera. Taller than I expected, even given we know he's tall from television.
Biggest surprise? Something we should all have known. This is a daily show, after all. They're writing it on the fly. Even as Stewart does a segment, they're off at stage right frantically scribbling notes. Between segments, they consult. Once, there's a do-over where a word didn't come out right. That's all though. They could darn near go live. It's professional, it's quick, it's smart, it's well-managed. (No, there are no backstage horror stories to tell. Everyone's working hard to make a great show, but I was around a long time and there was no yelling, no sniping, no none of that.
We loved the show. What can I say? Why else were we there to start with?
Thursday, the Big Day...and Friday, Departures
All the Drake students were at Invesco Field with the other professors. This not-so-intrepid professor went on over to help as an "intern" at the Jon Stewart "Daily Show", which airs on Comedy Central network. (Hope you saw it; it was as always hilarious).
Today, 50,000 people are scattering to the four winds. Waits at airports and train stations to clear security are three hours and more. I've chosen sanity over exhaustion and told the students to cover their experience of Thursday for us this weekend, from the calm nucleus of home. (You already formed your own experience of it from television, without absorbing too much of the commentators' rehash, I hope.)
During this trip, I've become much more sympathetic to the media, the broadcasters in particular.
Denver saw an epidemic of "Where's my this?" "I can't find my that." Packing to travel is re-memorizing your whole health and clothing environment. Little things elude you. Reading glasses, the computer cord, a pen, food. It's no wonder larger things are so elusive to a media corps that's moving from place to place constantly, with less and less control over personal environment s more and more survival items go missing.
Hereafter, I'm going to blame the daze and stress of travel for any anchorperson's moments of moron-hood.
And I'll post the students' stories and photos this weekend. Cheers!
Today, 50,000 people are scattering to the four winds. Waits at airports and train stations to clear security are three hours and more. I've chosen sanity over exhaustion and told the students to cover their experience of Thursday for us this weekend, from the calm nucleus of home. (You already formed your own experience of it from television, without absorbing too much of the commentators' rehash, I hope.)
During this trip, I've become much more sympathetic to the media, the broadcasters in particular.
Denver saw an epidemic of "Where's my this?" "I can't find my that." Packing to travel is re-memorizing your whole health and clothing environment. Little things elude you. Reading glasses, the computer cord, a pen, food. It's no wonder larger things are so elusive to a media corps that's moving from place to place constantly, with less and less control over personal environment s more and more survival items go missing.
Hereafter, I'm going to blame the daze and stress of travel for any anchorperson's moments of moron-hood.
And I'll post the students' stories and photos this weekend. Cheers!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Come with Me to the Emily's List Gala
Alexa Pichert, Drake Journalism
Tuesday August 26, 2008
[Emily = Early Money Is Like Yeast; Emily's List = Fundraising Group for Women Progressive Candidates]
When I arrived at the Sheraton Hotel where the Emily’s List Gala was being held it seemed like there was a lot of organized chaos, which later just turned into chaos. My job was to check the media in and give them their credentials and then send them off to the Secret Service to be taken into the press box. This sounds much easier than it was.
There were 300 media outlets that applied to get a spot to cover the speakers and only 40 were allowed spots. Most outlets were only allowed to bring two people. This left us to deal with many angry and upset people that weren’t allowed in. Many of whom claimed they had received e-mails saying they could come. I had to explain to the people from CBS and FOX that they were not on the list and would have to talk to the woman in charge to try to get in. Then there were the people that would make up names and try to claim they were with a big time outlet to get in or those that would read the list form upside down and then when asked to see their identification just walk away. My favorite was the woman who said that she had been personally told by Hilary Clinton that she could come.
Dealing with the Secret Service wasn’t much better. Once the media had been checked in they had to go wait for the Secret Service to send them through security. The only problem was that no one was willing to stay in the holding area. They would walk around trying to get interviews and different angles for their stories. I felt slightly out of place telling all these big name media people to go stand against the wall like little kids.
Once everyone had gone through security and the media had all been settled into their box, we were allowed to go in and listen to the speakers. I missed most of Senator Clinton who went first, which was slightly disappointing. I was able to hear the end of her speech where she encouraged women to vote for Barack Obama because “he is on our side,” said Clinton.
“If you call up Laura Bush, she won’t be there, if you call up Michelle Obama, she will be.” Clinton said.
"Michelle Obama is looking out for women and so is Barack Obama, he will listen to our needs and he is willing to sign the bill giving women equal pay. George Bush wasn’t willing to sign that bill and neither will John McCain," said Clinton to end her speech.
After her, Nancy Pelosi came on and gave a speech pretty similar to the one I’d heard the day before, but this time there weren’t any interruptions from Code Pink. She talked about the enormous amount of pressure she felt being the first woman to sit at the table as the Speaker of the House. She said she could feel all the great women standing behind her as she sat in that chair for the first time. Pelosi said she wished more women could sit at the table with her so that they could make it equal, 50/50.
Next Michelle Oabama came out. She talked about her husband and his goals as president to help out women. “Barack used to say there are two realities: the way the world is and the way it should be,” said Michelle Obama. She said that Barack's goal is to make sure that we don’t just settle for the way it is but we fight for the way it should be. She also thanked Senator Clinton for her help and guidance over the past couple months during the campaign, about dealing with raising a family and a husband who is running for president.
The Emily’s List gala had some very interesting speakers that I’m glad I got to see. The organization of it seemed pretty much non-existent, though. With so many big names coming, I would’ve expected much better preparation and security measures of who was and wasn’t allowed in.
Tuesday August 26, 2008
[Emily = Early Money Is Like Yeast; Emily's List = Fundraising Group for Women Progressive Candidates]
When I arrived at the Sheraton Hotel where the Emily’s List Gala was being held it seemed like there was a lot of organized chaos, which later just turned into chaos. My job was to check the media in and give them their credentials and then send them off to the Secret Service to be taken into the press box. This sounds much easier than it was.
There were 300 media outlets that applied to get a spot to cover the speakers and only 40 were allowed spots. Most outlets were only allowed to bring two people. This left us to deal with many angry and upset people that weren’t allowed in. Many of whom claimed they had received e-mails saying they could come. I had to explain to the people from CBS and FOX that they were not on the list and would have to talk to the woman in charge to try to get in. Then there were the people that would make up names and try to claim they were with a big time outlet to get in or those that would read the list form upside down and then when asked to see their identification just walk away. My favorite was the woman who said that she had been personally told by Hilary Clinton that she could come.
Dealing with the Secret Service wasn’t much better. Once the media had been checked in they had to go wait for the Secret Service to send them through security. The only problem was that no one was willing to stay in the holding area. They would walk around trying to get interviews and different angles for their stories. I felt slightly out of place telling all these big name media people to go stand against the wall like little kids.
Once everyone had gone through security and the media had all been settled into their box, we were allowed to go in and listen to the speakers. I missed most of Senator Clinton who went first, which was slightly disappointing. I was able to hear the end of her speech where she encouraged women to vote for Barack Obama because “he is on our side,” said Clinton.
“If you call up Laura Bush, she won’t be there, if you call up Michelle Obama, she will be.” Clinton said.
"Michelle Obama is looking out for women and so is Barack Obama, he will listen to our needs and he is willing to sign the bill giving women equal pay. George Bush wasn’t willing to sign that bill and neither will John McCain," said Clinton to end her speech.
After her, Nancy Pelosi came on and gave a speech pretty similar to the one I’d heard the day before, but this time there weren’t any interruptions from Code Pink. She talked about the enormous amount of pressure she felt being the first woman to sit at the table as the Speaker of the House. She said she could feel all the great women standing behind her as she sat in that chair for the first time. Pelosi said she wished more women could sit at the table with her so that they could make it equal, 50/50.
Next Michelle Oabama came out. She talked about her husband and his goals as president to help out women. “Barack used to say there are two realities: the way the world is and the way it should be,” said Michelle Obama. She said that Barack's goal is to make sure that we don’t just settle for the way it is but we fight for the way it should be. She also thanked Senator Clinton for her help and guidance over the past couple months during the campaign, about dealing with raising a family and a husband who is running for president.
The Emily’s List gala had some very interesting speakers that I’m glad I got to see. The organization of it seemed pretty much non-existent, though. With so many big names coming, I would’ve expected much better preparation and security measures of who was and wasn’t allowed in.
Hillary supporters-not done yet?
from Lee Jolliffe
Yesterday evening, long before the "approved" convention signs for Hillary were passed out, delegations all over the Hall were waving the HIllary signs they'd brought from home. Here, Jeff Glaze catches a shot of a typical reaction to any mention of Hillary's name throughout the evening and before her arrival.
Kucinich Wakes up America--and the Convention Hall
by Jeff Glaze, Drake Politics and Journalism
(speech quotations verified at swamppolitics.com, part of the Tribune Co.)
Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich delivered a fiery speech Tuesday afternoon at the Democratic National Convention. Kucinich took the stage and enthusiastically announced, “We Democrats are giving America a wake-up call!” Kucinich strongly critiqued the direction of our country in his anti-war speech. The Ohio Congressman angrily stated that “[We] borrowed money to bomb bridges in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. No money to rebuild bridges in America. Money to start a hot war with Iran. Now we have another cold war with Russia.” Kucinich continually called on Americans to “wake up”, and as the speech went on, he became increasingly animated, practically jumping behind the podium. The Pepsi Center was half empty at the time the speech was delivered, but those who were there to witness it cheered wildly. Reporters and photographers who had been paying little attention to the other speeches rushed in to listen to Kucinich’s rant.
Then Kucinich changed the tone of his speech from angry to hopefully in a matter of seconds. “Wake up, America. This is not a call for you to take a new direction from right to left. This is call for you to go from down to up. Up with the rights of workers. Up with wages. Up with fair trade,” he said. “Up with health care for all. Up with education for all. Up with home ownership. Up with guaranteed retirement benefits. Up with peace. Up with prosperity. Up with the Democratic Party. Up with Obama-Biden. Wake up, America. Wake up, America. Wake up, America.” Kucinich finished to a standing ovation from the entire hall. As Kucinich walked off, he covered his heart and waved in a gesture of his sincerity.
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