How media outlets operate at RNC

Posted on Sep 01, 2012 by The Chronicle

Blog by Peter Corkery:

While the RNC finally kicked off Tuesday, Media outlets were running stories and interviews right next door at the Tampa bay Convention Center. One Air Conditioned walkway away From the Tampa bay Forum lays the hub for all media outlets. One cannot walk far in the Convention center without being earshot of a TV broadcasting the RNC. Despite being in an opposite building one cannot miss the events going on. One of the biggest attractions of the center is the Google media suite. The room is full of innovative kiosks and free coffee for journalists who enjoy free wifi and massage chairs. However the word quickly spread since Monday and the Google wifi has been on and off due to high traffic. Inside the exhibition hall is where most outlets make their headquarters. Separated only by cloth, the size of the media outlet’s space ranges from taking up a section of the convention hall that can house up to one hundred people, to my organization Talk Radio News Service that has one plastic table. While Talk Radio news has a small bit of real estate in the exhibition hall they make up for it on radio row the area of the convention hall that all talk radio hosts congregate to do interviews and broadcast their shows. This is where we see a plethora of figures including actor Jon Voight, and Senator Mitch McConnel. The convention hall is an interesting place on its own and it stands as a symbol of how integral the media is in covering the conventions events and atmosphere.