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Wed: The good, the bad, & the unwatchable
posted at 2008-08-27 23:57 | Last modified 2008-08-28 01:13
It’s apparently trendy for insider journos in Denver to rate the convention coverage of other insider journos in Denver this week. I'm neither an insider nor in Denver, but I thought I’d still add the 2 cents I found in my couch cushions as I've been watching this thing from home.
- MSNBC: Spare me. It’s like letting the cheerleaders call their own team's game. The only saving grace is the network’s internal grudge match. For sheer entertainment value, it’s hard to beat Chris Matthews mouthing off at Keith Olbermann.
- CNN: More commercials than coverage, and the roster reads like the Top Ten list of DC special interest groups. But hey, who doesn't love "clean coal"?
- PBS: Sorry, Gwen, I love you, but PBS wins the award for Dullest Talking Heads Ever. It’s like sitting through a four-day-long grad school seminar.
- NPR: Nice job of covering the big speeches, but audience reaction matters, too. Unfortunately, the medium doesn’t allow them to rescue boring speeches by cutting away to visuals of people in funny hats.
- FOX: Peanut Gallery central. The convention only shows up as background noise behind various talking heads dissing whoever’s on stage. And either they’ve got the worst set lighting of all time, or there’s been a network-wide bronzer mishap.
- DISH cable coverage: Straight feed, but a little too minimalist. Who IS this person talking, anyway?
Winner:
CSPAN. No blather, no spin, just live coverage -- plus helpful chyrons that identify the speakers and keep you updated on the schedule. Bonus: well-produced DNC commercials you can actually watch. Well, at least the first ten times.
Closer to home:
BlueNC’s got a handful of folks blogging from the floor. Speaking of people in funny hats, Chapel Hill’s Graig Meyer is doing a video blog that caught the attention of the BBC today.
UNC-TV’s Eszter Vajda’s out in Denver, too, reporting live and blogging about it here.
The N&O's Rob Christensen and Charlotte's Jim Morrill are teaming up for print coverage of the Denver scene. Updates from both are showing up at McClatchyLand's Legion of Dome.
Comments? Drop me a line.
