Hot on Facebook

Guy Buys $123 Safe on eBay, Finds $26,000 Inside Seller tries to get half the cash back, fails »

Journos Should Skip RNC, DNC

Conventions merely 'infomercials' for parties, junkets for reporters

By Gabriel Winant, Newser User

Posted Aug 14, 2008 5:07 PM CDT

(Newser) – The press should quit covering the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, argues Jack Shafer in Slate. Little more than a four-day “infomercial” for the host party, each would be better covered by “sportscasters like Bob Costas,” who “know how to make a game with a foregone conclusion seem entertaining.” Journalists defend their coverage—but they also enjoy the booze-filled, expenses-paid vacation, says Shafer.

The conventions no longer determine the presidential nominee, and the campaigns typically announce the VP choices in advance as well. Party platforms mean little, and even the best speeches are rarely newsworthy. “If the political press corps were honest, they’d start every convention story with the finding that nothing important happened that day and that your attention is not needed.”

[Images (3)]

[Quotes (1)]

An image of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., is projected on a screen as he speaks during a forum at the UNITY '08 Convention in Chicago, Sunday, July 27, 2008. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Democratic National Convention, 2004. (Magnum Photos)

Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., speaks to reporters during a news conference Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2008, in Birmingham, Mich. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

Slate, I'm embarrassed to admit, is sending a team of eight to Denver and six to St. Paul. Attention! Don Graham! We're spending your cash like it's Zimbabwean bank notes!

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Mac Bounces to 3-Point Lead Over Obama

Convention boosts McCain to highest numbers since May

(NEWSER) - John McCain is leading Barack Obama by 48% to 45% in the latest Gallup poll, McCain's highest level of support since early May, Politico reports. Both candidates earned an expected convention bounce, but McCain’s boost was more immediate. Obama was ahead 49% to 43% among registered voters before the Republican convention last week. More»

Obama Grabs 50% in Poll

New threshold marks key advance against McCain's 42%

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama has the support of 50% of voters for the first time since beginning his run for the White House, according to the latest Gallup poll. It's a key symbolic threshold for Obama, who was evenly split at 45% with John McCain before the Democratic convention, reports Politico. McCain tallied 42% in the latest poll. More»

Convention Bounce Small, Fading Fast

Polls see Obama's approval grow by below-average 3%-4%, then diminish over weekend

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama enjoyed a noticeable, but below-average, bounce in opinion polls after last week’s Democratic National Convention, Politico reports—but the gains appear to be already diminishing. Obama has risen 4% in Gallup’s daily tracking poll, 3% in a CBS survey—smaller than the average 5-6% convention bounce. And while Gallup had Obama 8% ahead of John McCain on Saturday, his margin was 5% yesterday. More»

GOP Looks to Rain on Convention Parade

Republicans aim to upstage rival; Dems plan to respond in kind

(NEWSER) - The days of the parties giving each other a breather during convention week are long gone, the New York Times reports. As Democrats reveled in Denver yesterday, the Republicans began popping balloons--launching attack ads, holding press conferences underscoring the Clinton-Obama divide, and trotting their candidate out on the Tonight Show. The Dems, for their part, plan to be just as aggressive during the Republican National Convention. More»

'Relic' Conventions to Host Huge Political Shifts

Obama, McCain both aim to redirect parties

(NEWSER) - The presidential nominees are already decided—so why have conventions? “Money and publicity," Bill Schneider writes on CNN. Gala events are prime opportunities to milk donors, and high visibility has led “both parties try to control every minute of the convention as if it were a television show—because it is a television show.” But this year, writes Schneider, the convention hoopla hides two major shifts. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Journos Should Skip RNC, DNC