27th
Ryan at the DNC
So what’s it like to be Ryan at the DNC, you ask? Well, here’s a quick run down of how it would go if you were me:
The convention begins at three, so to stake out your digs in the press area, head downtown around 1:30. Flash your press pass and you’re through the gate. Then comes a security checkpoint, where the guards make you open your water bottle and take a sip to demonstrate that you’re not trying to smuggle anything illicit in for a DNC drinking game (by the way, there are a few good options for that for the viewers at home, including drinking whenever a speaker says ‘the next president of the United States, Barack Obama’ or when a speaker says ‘four more years of George Bush.’ You’ll be smashed in no time, friends). Then you’re through to the perimeter. Stop by one of the big press tents and grab some free food. On your way out, gawk shamelessly at the Washington Post and Newsweek workspaces, secretly hoping someone will come out just as you walk by and say ‘hey, you look like a talented young college student who wants to work for us. come on in.’
Then proceed to the media entrance. Flash your pass. Veer left. Flash your pass again. Proceed down a long backstage hallway. Go past the CNN space, the NPR space, past the congressional photographers’ gallery. Keep going until you’re absolutely positively sure you’ve gone the wrong way. Then spot the press elevators in the distance. Board. Go down one floor and exit into the Nuggets practice court, a sprawling room temporarily filled with tables, chairs, and frantic journalists. Snag a seat and an internet connection.
Check your email. See you have really easy assignment from your public radio boss to interview delegates. Plug in your recorder and head upstairs again. Swap your permanent press pass for a temporary pass onto the convention floor. Now you’re in. Find the North Carolina delegation and shamelessly approach random people to ask for an interview. Be awkward. And high pitched. But not on purpose, it just happens that way.
After you’re done with your interviews, head back to the press zone. Record the audio onto your computer, cut it into clips, and write up summaries of the interviews. Forward to your bosses.
To congratulate yourself on getting your work done, wander the halls/convention floor for a while in a free-for-all gawkfest. See a man in a bright yellow suit dancing on the convention floor and for a minute think it’s Ira Glass. Take a million pictures, then realize it’s actually Mo Rocca. Figure that’s not bad either and take a million more photos. Wander off.
Check the time. The night is young. More time for interviewing and gawking. Do both. Aggressively. If you’re feeling ambitious, grab some more free press food.
At the end of the night, stand in the hallway until people crush around you and basically push you towards the exit. Outside follow the NC delegation to their bus and ask a few more awkward questions. Then you’re good to go. Head home and send off the rest of your interviews.
Rinse and repeat for three more days.
And that, folks, is the DNC.
Over and out.
