Michelle Pearson
Hulstrom Options School
Adams 12 School District
With the advancements in technology, and the need for instant access to breaking news, the media was an ever present group all over Denver throughout theconvention. Behind the scenes media personnel waited both patiently and impatiently for access to important officials, candidates, and delegates, as well as everyday people who were attending the convention.
As a citizen of Denver, it seemed as if the downtown landscape had changed overnight with certain areas being blocked off to security or media only. The fact that almost everywhere you turned you could find some type of journalist whether that be a print press person such as a newspaper reporter, or someone working in digital media such as TV
and radio, was a little unsettling. Thereseemed to be more press than delegates at times! According to the credentials officer handing out floor passes, the DNC had a grand total of over 16,000 people registered for some type of convention pass under the title of “press.”
The press was allowed in different areas of the perimeter of the Pepsi Center, inside the arena, on the floor, and backstage. On the second level of the Pepsi Center, the halls were called “radio row, as stations from all over the country were there to interview people, and cover the latest news from the convention. Outside huge press tents, busses, and satellite dishes covered the area surrounding the convention, and you had to walk carefully as there were cables EVERYWHERE!. CNN even rented a restaurant out onsite for press and VIP guests and hung their own neon sign outside laying out their “turf.”
Here a congressman is interviewed for a talk show in the middle of the Pepsi Center on
Our great hosts, the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News were located in Pavilion 5, along with Newsweek, the Washington Post, and several other agencies. Located in each cubicle were phones, computer hookups, tables, papers, and press releases. Due to access to these tents we could read most speeches well before they were given, and find out the “podium order” – the order of the speakers for the evening at the Pepsi Center. Breaking news bleeps, text messages, emails, etc were—and are—running fast averaging several a minute for those who were scheduled to receive them.
Inside Pavilion 5
No matter who you are, or who you work for, you have to have credentials. Regarding credentials (which are the printed
passes/permissions on how to get where you need to go in the arena and around the site of the convention) , securing them could sometimes be a nightmare, using them easy or confusing depending on who you talked to, and keeping them on your person – an absolute requirement! Generally there were five types of credentials used. Other types were around but these were the most common to see:
An Arena Pass: This pass allowed you inside the perimeter, and inside the Pepsi Center but not inside the seating areas.
A Floor Pass: A floor pass would allow a person to access the floor area of the convention and center, and access to the closest areas near the stage and podium.
A VIP Pass: This pass allowed open access to almost anywhere, and sometimes backstage.
A Hall Pass: The hall pass allowed access to most of the Pepsi Center, except for the specialty press areas or VIP areas. Often you could trade a hall pass for a floor pass if you were a designated press person.
A Perimeter Pass: This allowed you to access the area around the Pepsi Center inside security but not enter all of the Pepsi Center building itself.
Specialty Passes: These passes allowed people to access certain media lounges where wireless was available, a “bloggers lounge” where you could blog, special receptions or events, or special caucus meetings.
Press Platforms in the Skyline
For a teacher that is not a regular member of the press, the experience of being behind the scenes at the convention with the press corps was amazing. I know that being with a student reporter all day was wonderful—although sometimes it was hard for her to decide what to report on.
Think About:
If you were a reporter, what kind of story would you like to cover after listening to the events in Denver over the last couple of days? What kind of pass would help you accomplish this? These are the types of questions press and media people had to think about BEFORE they came to Denver to get the kind of pass they need. Do you think they have covered the convention successfully? What story do you think is missing?
Interviewing a VIP
