NBC gives 3 hours to convention coverage

[NewJerseyDem]

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/conventions/articles/2004/07/09/nbc_gives_3_hours_to_convention_coverage/

Yesterday's announcement by NBC that it would devote three hours of prime-time coverage to both the Democratic and Republican conventions was greeted unenthusiastically by convention officials from both parties.

In becoming the first major commercial broadcast network to reveal its plans, NBC said it would air an hour of coverage -- from 10 to 11 p.m. -- on three of the four nights at each event. In Boston, that includes July 26 when former president Bill Clinton speaks, July 28 when vice presidential candidate John Edwards takes the podium, and July 29 when John Kerry accepts the Democratic presidential nomination. NBC will forego coverage on July 27, the night that Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy is slated to speak.

The network will broadcast from the Republican convention in New York on Aug. 31 when California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger speaks, on Sept. 1 when Vice President Dick Cheney addresses the assemblage, and on Sept. 2 when President Bush makes his acceptance speech.

An NBC spokeswoman said the three hours of planned coverage anchored by Tom Brokaw matches its 2000 total and could be expanded if ''events warrant." But convention organizers were not cheered by the news.

[SoCalDem]

1. That's plenty.. Most people who are realllllllly interested , have cable

anyway..and they will be all over it..

The daily Show's coverage will still be the best anyway :)

[Philostopher]

2. Wonder who they'll get, this year?

I'd venture a guess Franken's going to be too busy with AAR, Comedy Central usually brings him in for this kind of stuff. If I have to sit through Colin "so unfunny he sucks the funny out of other people" Quinn for more than a minute or two of it, I'll stick a spoon in my eyesockets.

[MaineDem]

20. Franken will be at the convention, however (nt)

[AirAmFan]

26. Al Franken and Arianna Huffington have become a convention tradition ever

since Bill Mahr's "Politically Incorrect" in 1996. Will Mahr be back on the air by convention time?

To plug AAR and try to generate overlap with one more audience, wouldn't Franken jump at the chance to reprise "Strange Bedfellows"?

Mahr put Franken and now-progressive Huffington back in bed four years ago. I just googled an August 2000 convention show transcript at http://home.hawaii.rr.com/snlcn/franken/pi.html

[bleowheels]

28. Anybody would be funnier than...

Colin. When did he become Dennis Miller anyway. I try to watch Tough Crowd sometimes and it seems like he has become such a Bush apologist these days.

[underpants]

3. They need to keep time clear to cover OBL being captured

that and Fear Factor of course.

[Snoggera]

4. I don't think that's plenty

I almost never watch tv, maybe 2 hours per week, so don't feel the cost of cable would be worth it. I would like to think that the networks could devote a little more time to this. I would love to see Kennedy's speech especially.

Maybe that will be the night to visit someone with cable. I shouldn't have to, though.

[NewJerseyDem]

9. The other networks might have more coverage

ABC and CBS might have more coverage. A lot of what is on TV is re-runs or horrible shows like "Who Wants to Marry My Dad?" so I assume those don't get very high ratings, so there can't be much to lose for the networks.

I think they should have a little more coverage, like the keynote address, but the networks don't need to cover it that much since the convention is kind of a waste of time.

[SoCalDem]

10. cspan will have the whole thing wall-to-wall online at their website

and you can watch it at your leisure.. or you could give blank tspes to friends with a vcr and have them tape it for you:)

[Snoggera]

12. Now that is a great idea

Why didn't I think of that? Sometimes the coffee just doesn't work as it should.

[0007]

23. Now 'ya know why they made SoCalDem the boss

[StopThief]

11. If you get PBS. . . .

they should provide some prety extended coverage.

[NMDemDist2]

6. and he has a real press pass thanks to McAlliff (sp)..n/t

[AlGore-08.com]

13. "Most people who are really interested have cable"? Is that a joke?

Most people who really need to see the conventions are too poor to have cable.

The people who will decide this election are the undecideds - - many of whom aren't "really interested" at this point.

And finally, am I the only person who gets the media-whoreness of their the non-candidate speaker choice? Bill Clinton is understandable, since he's a former President. The fact that he's still polling about 60% of the country disliking him is going to be ignored here, I know, but it's going to be a great big birthday present to the media whores. "Clinton outshines Kerry" will be the least harmful thing that will be said. Don't be surprised if there's another Clinton sex scandal or lawsuit "discovered" the day of his speech. (They did it in 2000, after all... )

The GOP gets Aanold, the big, macho movie star who is the most popular Republican in the nation.

NBC are whores...

[WyLoochka]

14. Disagree about "plenty"

and that "people who are realllllly interested, have cable." Only once in awhile is the tv even worth turning on, therefore it's not cost effective to pay for cable month after month, year after year just to have the tv ready for occasional use.

[jus_the_facts]

18. I totally agree...and yet am amazed at how so many refuse to STOP....

.....giving their money to those extortionists....free TV is disgusting enough these days and why PAY for MORE commercials...and to have the MEDIA whores LIE to you...I've not PURCHACED TV in over a decade...and I'm damn proud of it!! :nopity:

[Maeve]

5. Playing the devil's advocate---why show them at all?

They are staged events designed to sell the candidates that have already been chosen. It could even be argued that the conventions are security risks and expensive targets for disruption--and most folks won't watch, anyway, unless something unexpected happens. So why bother with special coverage?

[AlGore-08.com]

15. Because the candidate's speech lays out their platform

It's the only time most people hear anything like the platform in it's entirety.

It's one of the few times that people who don't have cable - - most of whom are too poor to afford it - - get to hear the candidate speak for him/herself about subjects he/she wants to talk about.

As a result, the candidate gets a bounce in the polls, sometimes a huge one. In 2000, it lifted Gore up from trailing Smirk by 10-15% (depending on the poll) to running dead even with him.

If the convention is not televised, it is the corporate media which decides what issues get addressed. In 2000, the media said Gore's platform was "class warfare" and "failed populism". Exactly what parts of Gore's platform were they refering to? Do you know? I can guess, but I don't know for sure. I do know that the charge was total bs, because I had access to the Internet, and could see every speech he made at AlGore.com. People who didn't have access to the Internet had no idea it was bs.

Additionally, the non-nominees who speak are often chosen because they appeal to segments of the rank and file who aren't thrilled with the candidate - - or because they appear to have the makings of a future Presidential candidate. It weakens both the candidate and the party to lose that national exposure.

[truthisfreedom]

7. hahahahahaaaaaaa. they're going to show ahh-nold as the GOP's version of

Clinton? hahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaa. goofballs. ahh-nold is, and always will be known as the groper. Clinton is an American hero who was demonized by these cheners... he's the perfect man to put on tv for an hour. ahh-nold WASN'T EVEN cHENING BORN HERE!

[jean]

8. Hopefully Big Dog will keep his speech to an hour so we don't

have to miss anything when they cut out!

how the hell can Gropenator talk for more than about fifteen minutes? Most of his speech will probably be terse, vague sentences interrupted by many minutes of crowd reaction.

[GBD4]

16. oh come on, not the worst thing in the world

Bush/Cheney/Arnold vs. John/John/Bill

in just 3 hours, all of America will have seen enough to know that the Democrats are far better :)

[jus_the_facts]

19. Don't bet on it.....I deluded m'self in 2000 thinkin' the same thing....

....and look how THAT turned out!! :(

[AndyTiedye]

22. "Just Because You Get the Most Votes Doesn't Mean You Win"

-- Fox Muldor, X-Files

We didn't know that in 2000.

[wishlist]

17. I love it!! Clinton, Edwards, Kerry versus Arnold, Cheney and Bush-we win

on all three matchups. Hope this is how it unfolds.

[troublemaker]

21. This is excellent news

This diminishes the comparative value of the late repub convention.

I wouldn't want ten hours in July if it meant ten hours for bush in September

Plus, I expect that cops beating kids will be hard news, not convention coverage, so repub-con coverage might end up on-balance negative

[Piperay]

29. I agree

outside of the Acceptance speeches by the nominees the rest of the conventions are nothing more than hours long commercials. I would rather have less of the Democratic one shown than have the repukes get all that time for there staged 'big tent' production. I am a convention junkie so I will seek it out on cable but the average murican voter is better off without all that BS repuke propaganda. :puke:

[Lydia Leftcoast]

24. I can remember what seemed like endless coverage of both conventions

in the 1950s and early 1960s, when I was a kid looking for something "good" to watch. I'm sure it wasn't gavel to gavel, but it was very thorough coverage, with all the speakers.

[kwolf68]

25. For you convention hounds

Isn't each night kinda segregated into "topics"...Where you have the choice crowd one night, racial tolerance folks, environment, economic justice, etc...

[bleowheels]

27. We (Democrats) win 3-0!!!

Although I would have liked to see more coverage, I'll put our speakers up "head to head" with their speakers anyday. Clinton vs. Schwarzenegger, Edwards vs. Cheney and Kerry vs Bush! If only they could be broadcast side by side in split-screen.