The Democratic Convention in the Age of a Pandemic: Hundreds of Live Streams and Four Stages

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Critics have derided political conventions like a glorified television show for several election cycles. This year it really is: a TV production with live footage and short clips from across the country.

The Democrats’ big show begins Monday – “the lean convention will be a mix of live and pre-recorded speeches and highly produced visuals,” wrote the NYT’s Astead W. Herndon and Reid J. Epstein on Sunday. Their story bore a Milwaukee signature, but noted that “there will be no official business conducted in Milwaukee.” A virtual convention, indeed …

From CNN’s Jessica Dean: “The Democrats’ virtual convention will feature hundreds of live broadcasts from across the country and four stages located in New York City, Los Angeles, Milwaukee and Wilmington, Delaware, according to a source who recently saw convention shots. . “

“The all-virtual convention will feature hosts to lead the evening’s two-hour program, with those people mostly broadcasting out of the LA studio, according to the source,” Dean wrote. “In addition, live speakers from across the country will broadcast each evening from historic and symbolic locations, which will thematically reinforce their words.”

>> The Daily Beast compared the convention to the “Most Important Zoom Meeting” of the DNC ever …

Behind the Scenes with Ricky Kirshner

Hundreds of people are producing this giant Zoom appeal. They have been run by DNC executive producer since 1992 Ricky Kirshner, who also produces halftime Super Bowl shows and Tony Awards televisions. He told WaPo’s Michael Scherer, “Anything can happen. It’s not scripted, I can tell you. There is so much live on this show.”

However, some elements are scripted, of course – and some speeches are recorded in advance. The live footage “will be mixed in real time with a roughly equal share of pre-recorded performances, mini-documentaries and speeches,” Scherer wrote.

And it is a source of tension between the organizers of the convention and the television channels. NBC, ABC and CBS have committed to one hour of congress coverage per night – the 10 p.m. ET hour. Cable channels like CNN have scheduled special coverage all night long – but that doesn’t mean the convention TV show will automatically air. ‘The new circus’ could collapse’ if TV and cable channels make their talents on air on all carefully prepared stages and less partisan viewers decide to dismiss the show as too long a propaganda flick “Scherer wrote.

No doubt loyal Democrats will be watching the official DNC live stream on the web, and Republicans will be watching the same in a week’s time. But what moments will break through for a wider audience? We will see…

Why conventions are important

These comments in George Winslow’s Broadcasting & Cable cover story hit the nail on the head:

>> ABC’s main MOU for special events Marc Burstein: “With the issues the country faces right now with the coronavirus and the economic decline and racial unrest, the conventions will provide voters with plans for how each party plans to tackle these issues and what the country will look like under a Democratic president or a Republican president. “

>> Caitlin Conant, Policy Director, CBS News: The conventions “will allow candidates to reintroduce themselves to America and bring attention back to politics.”

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