Quick Tuesday Afternoon Update - Weird CBS Stuff And DU Reference At CBS News Blog

[Hissyspit]

Day Two starts with me in The Big Tent - blogger central - and Elad getting the daily credentials. (Big unnecessary pain.) Tygrbright is also now in the house.- good to meet her finally after all these years - and DUer DFW is also here, in with a guest pass.

INTERESTING confluence. Dan Rather was upstairs speaking about the importance of independent media and citizen journalism, Ellen Spiro, Phil Donahue and their movie "Body of War." Meanwhile, Katie Couric is downstairs meeting bloggers. Then, yours truly gets interviewed by none other than a CBS News blogger. Synchronicity and worlds collide. Only at the DNC. The short talk with me by the CBS guy should be up at the CBS site in the "Horserace" blog section: http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/08/26/politics/horserace/entry4385747.shtml

The full quote was "I don't mean to be trite, but it's a 'happening place.'"

I have heard that peaceful protesters have been rounded up and I am going to try to check that part of the scene, but as you have seen, there is a lot going on at any given moment. I know everyone is thirsty for info on the free speech and dissent activity and the reactions - appropriate or not - to it. I am of the mind that a heavy police presence is not really necessary for things like this and that democracy would work much better if the police.

Saw both a Dep't of Homeland Security SUV and a truckload of Denver heavy-response "SWAT" police on the way over here. I'm sure I will see more; moments later passed an apparently homeless fellow looking pretty rough just sitting on the sidewalk. The city must have missed him. (sarcasm)

Can I get some feedback on the convention hall's floor feed from Fox News. I was wondering about the quallity and any possible bias, and have not been able to keep up on that. Please post your sense of their coverage here, if you would. Tygrbright should be in the hall today and I will be their later tonight, if I don't go to the Dennis and Elizabeth Kucinich meet-up.

More later.

[bdamomma]

1. thanks hissy for the update.

it must be so exciting to be there.

[supernova]

2. Fox cameras

There has been a little talk that esp last night during Teddy's speech the the Fox people elected to show only people who were talking to others, looking elsewhere but the podium, and just in general trying to give the impression that people in the hall weren't very interested in his very moving speech. I've been glued to CSPAN so I can't verify. They pretty much are full on just viewing the podium and a few wide angle shots when speakers enter the stage.

[barbtries]

3. i can't comment on fox's coverage

but nothing would surprise me. i'm streaming cspan and enjoying all your dispatches.

[BrklynLiberal]

4. Same here. Glued to CSPAN...occasionally go to MSNBC to see Keith.

[NBachers]

5. Anyone throwing "figurative euphemistic " eggs at Katy?

[Cooley Hurd]

6. Although I haven't seen it yet, I'm sure Faux will have breaking news if any Dem picks their nose...

It must be a BLAST there! I'm jealous!!!!:blush:

[seafan]

7. Thom Hartmann said he never saw the speech from Jim Leach (R), now supporting Obama

The Honorable Jim Leach
Former Republican Member of the US House of Representatives, 1st District, Iowa


(Can someone else verify this from the FOX feed?)


Leach was very eloquent in his support of Obama and in describing his own dissatisfaction with what his own Republican Party has become.

Not surprising that the FOX feed would omit Leach's speech. I did see Leach on the CSPAN feed, though.



I also noticed during Michelle's speech that the majority of the camera shots of people in the crowd were those who were chit-chatting with others, looking exhausted/bored/about to fall asleep.


The audio was turned down quite a bit when the cheers erupted for Kennedy's and Michelle's introductions and speeches, so you really couldn't get a feel for the noise. Also, I noticed during Michelle's speech that the audio of extraneous chatter/background noise of the crowd was accentuated.


All of this when many men and women were crying during both of these amazing and historical speeches.



Our so-called media are a disgusting cesspool of paid-off sycophants.

[cally]

8. I think the news feed has been skewing crowd shots.

I understand that 50 percent of the delegates are men and I believe (if I remember correctly) 75 percent are white. During Michelle Obama's speech, many black delegates were shown. I certainly had the sense that she wasn't appealing to all the delegates but mostly older, black women. I know that's untrue but I was upset at the feed. I'm curious if others had the same perception I did or if I just am too cynical about the corporate media.

[supernova]

9. If you want "fun" convention coverage

tune in BBC news team on BBC America. They are positively giddy. :-)

[KoKo]

10. Many DU'ers are watching the full coverage on C-Span...the Cables are not doing

the job...

Hope you make it to the Kucinich Meet Up....that would be very interesting to report on for those of us who love them...

[supernova]

11. Hissyspit, a request

I know it's a madhouse there, but if you get the chance, would you please see if you can bump into Matt Frei or Katy Kay from the BBC and tell them much we appreciate their coverage (well me anyway :P )

Pretty please? :d

[Hissyspit]

18. I'll see if I can find them. n/t

[Rhiannon12866]

12. K&R! Thanks for the behind-the-scenes perspective, which presents the real picture

of what's really going on. I no longer trust the MSM, except for Keith, but his reporting is mediated by Tweety's... *sigh*

As for Dan Rather, he is a "true journalist," to quote Greg Palast. He once said in an interview with Palast on BBC's Newsnight, that any journalist who dared to report the truth would be "necklaced," a an apartheid reference in which a burning tire was placed around the offender's neck. He was obviously prophetic...;(

But there's no danger of this with Katie Couric on the scene...:eyes:

Take care of yourself out there and thank you...:yourock:

[marlakay]

13. Tom said on his show they were showing

bored white people and crying blacks to make it look like only his race cares for him.

Sick...

I am watching on cspan so i haven't seen any of that thank god, they show it all happy, bored, young, old, white, black, etc....i just wish everyone saw it the way i am.

[Bunkie0913]

14. Kucinich meetup

The Kucinich meetup is likely the only place you'll encounter truth, justice and accountability spoken by an elected official. The Kucitizens fit better in the outside protest rather than the party insider crowd. I'm surprised Dennis was given the opportunity to speak at the DNC.

[Breeze54]

15. Please go to the Skylark Lounge and meet Dennis and Elizabeth!

Thanks for all the blogging too! :hi:

----------

If you are in Denver this week, Dennis and I would like to meet you.

We will be upstairs at the SkyLark Lounge on Tuesday night from 9pm - 10pm.

It's just going to be a fun and informal gathering.

RSVP HERE: https://services.myngp.com/NGPOnlineServices/Event.aspx?Y=FrZ0S4jyDpXD5rutoBwJ0rRyLiiT4GuGTxxVgaX1ia1uQJlM9Wwbqw==

SkyLark Lounge
140 S. Broadway
Denver, CO 80203
303-722-7844
http://www.skylarklounge.com /

We look forward to seeing you there and thank you for your continued support!


Elizabeth

---------

:kick: & recommended

[Hissyspit]

24. Elad and I went, but we just missed them.

Drat.

[Skinner]

16. Excellent!

:thumbsup:

[IndyOp]

17. Hissyspit - Information and feedback about the coverage...

There have been several threads on DU about what "pool" coverage really means and whether or not it is skewing coverage by FOX and/or by other networks.

Thom Hartmann brought up the issue of skewed coverage first thing on this radio show today -- he said that he noticed skewed coverage last night and that an African American woman he rode on the bus with to the convention center this morning brought up the topic asking why she didn't see any blonde women on TV the previous evening. See "Thom Hartmann is asking..." and "Interesting discussion on Thom Hartmann...".

What I've learned on those threads about "pool" coverage: FOX has at least one (and probably) several stationary cameras on the floor pointed at the dais and at least one that they use to scan the audience. The other media outlets can take feed from any of the FOX cameras or they can use the shot from their own camera(s). Several DU posters think that each network can get their own audience reaction shots if they want to. DemConWatch said in 2007 that they did not think that FOX getting pool coverage could impact coverage because each network can chose when to use its own shots and when to use the pool shots - here.

There seems to be variability among the networks as to the extent to which they are sampling from FOX'es various cameras.

The problems are that, to the extent that a network used FOX'es audience shots, those shots:

- included too many people who are distracted or frowning.

- over-represented African American delegates - leading to the impression that whites aren't showing up. This is a way of casting Obama as a BLACK candidate instead of as an exceptional candidate who happens to be black.

Also the audio has been wacky at times -- according to one person who called Thom Hartmann today he thought that FOX wasn't blending the audio appropriately so that the roaring sound of crowd reaction was being muted (which is what happened with Howard Dean's audio after the Iowa convention). What I noticed last night - and was angry about - was that the audio of the audience was too loud during Jim Leach's (R) speech. I posted last night that I was embarrassed that the delegates were being so rude that they would not sit still and listen to an important speech in which Leach praised Al Gore and John Kennedy and urged us to hold up the lamp of fairness. Having heard what the caller to Thom's show said I am now concerned that FOX was adjusting the audio to distract from a Republican who was praising Obama.

I hope you'll keep looking into this -- I think we need a media fairness group to do an instant analysis comparing audience reaction shots from one network to another so we can assess whether networks that are more dependent on FOXes cameras are presenting a more biased view of the convention.

And check out this DU thread for more...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x6759237

Cool Aqua Blogs
http://coolaqua.blogs.com/coolaqua/2008/08/fox-pool-covera.html

From DemConWatch
http://www.demconwatchblog.com/2007/09/fox-news-to-provide-convention-pool.html

[orleans]

23. great post IndyOp n/t

[Hissyspit]

25. Thanks, Indy.

I watched the rerun C-Span coverage tonight.

[libodem]

19. I'm just happy to know you are there

Go get get 'em.

[Politicalboi]

20. I can't wait

To see REAL coverage on The Daily Show, especailly next week

[Midlodemocrat]

21. You were talking about the lounge weren't you?

:hide:

Awesome, Hissyspit. Great work. :thumbsup:

[Swamp Rat]

22. k&r

[radfringe]

26. I've been channel flipping between

MSNBC, C-Span and a satellite station coverage

while I like listening to Keith, Rachel and a couple of others on MSNBC - tweety, buchannon etc turns my stomach - so I've watched more of the coverage on the other stations

[gi4obama]

27. Get someone to

start the sprinkler system again in the Fax suite. Maybe O'Liely and HanniNNy will get electrocuted.