Debate

One Man's Take...

2004-11-07T19:46:00.000-08:00

It's been nearly a month since the debate, and the election is now over. I just thought I'd chime back in before officially signing off.

One thing that really bothered me as I followed the election, and everything leading up to the election, was the media coverage. I spoke briefly in an earlier entry about how I thought it was stupid that politics could be so devisive and that people could become so heated over their opinions. It's one thing for people to get into an argument over politics on the bus, but it's another thing for such attitudes to spill over into journalism.

Fox News has a reputation for being a conservative pro-Bush network, and I would not argue that. It's pathetic that a legitimate news source could conduct itself like this. However, the thing about it is that Fox News is not alone. It is virtually impossible to find impartial journalism these days. As a journalism student, I have always been under the impression that it is our job to present the facts IMPARTIALLY. That means without bias or opinions. Maybe journalists these days are unfamiliar with the word so I'll try to explain it to them.

Now I'm not just trying to immitate Jon Stewart's visit on Crossfire. It's just that the appearance of blogs onto the media scene is a way for people to report and express opinions, and I obviously have to think that it is a valid medium since I am fully utilizing it right now. Even bloggers should be responsible for some degree of professionalism, but they can get a pass due to the nature of the medium. Networks on the other hand should be held to a higher standard. The public should have access to an accurate portrayal of the facts, which is something that networks and even newspapers have a difficult time providing these days.

I may not have been around when Walter Cronkite was anchoring CBS News, but I would think that there was a reason that he was the most trusted man in America. Those days are gone, and the integrity of journalism is gone with it.

This may just be the opinion of some punk 21-year-old, but hopefully my fellow punk journalism classmates will be able to get into the field an change the landscape. I may have to live with another four years of Bush, but I shouldn't have to live with journalism that lacks integrity.

With that, I will sign off for the last time. I have to get back to studying proper journalism practices...something that many journalists these days must have missed.

The Debate

2004-10-13T21:47:00.000-07:00

Well, as it turned out, I got to see the entire debate from inside the auditorium. I wasn't sure what to expect but it was an awesome experience.

There were six other photo runners and we got our tour at about 4 p.m. The way it worked was there were platforms across the middle of the auditorium for Fox News, NBC, CBS, etc. There were spaces between each of them for newspaper photographers to sit. In the middle was the control area and a lots more photographers. Our jobs were to relay the photographers' disks to the outside and take them to the area where the newspapers were transmitting from. There was one of us between each set of photographers, and one at the end to run everything. All I had to do was stand in front of the Fox News platform and pass an envelope back and forth every 5-15 minutes. Other than that I just got to watch the debate.

We were in position by about 4:30. People began moving in early and were supposed to be in their seats by 5:30. There was a group of guys that sat right in front of my little area. You could have easliy thought they were just a bunch of guys arriving at a football game. A couple of them were ripping on Bush, and one or two would try to defend him. I got quite a kick out of it. Then the people in front of them joined in the argument. At one point, one of the guys stepped in and tried to calm everybody down by saying, "hey, we're all Americans." While the whole exchange was pretty hilarious, I thought that was a great line.

At 5:30, various CPD people got up and welcomed everyone and introduced everything. Everyone was in their seats except John McCain and Rudy Giuliani who made their entrance in the middle of the introductions. Then Bob Schieffer came out, made a little speech, and we waited for everything to start.

As soon as Bush and Kerry came out, I was passing stuff back and forth pretty frequently. They had to get photos out quickly to make deadlines on the east coast. I was right next to a guy from the London Times. He didn't have to use us runners because his deadline was gone, so he really gave me a hard time each time I had to reach over him. For the most part he was just kidding, but he kind of came a cross as a jerk. Maybe I just don't understand British humor.

It was funny how every time that either Bush or Kerry made any type of gesture, or were the slightest bit animated, you could hear all of the cameras clicking rapidly. I guess you can't use a picture of them just standing there at the podium. They have to get them pointing at each other or something.

It also struck me during the debate that I was actually in the same room as the leader of the free world. I was close enough to throw something at him, (not that I ever would, especially with all the secret service).

It seemed to me that Bush did a lot better during this debate than the first two. When I watched parts of the first two, he really seemed like he had no clue what was going on and didn't have any substantial things to say. Although I don't necessarily agree with what he said, I think he seemed more prepared and reasonably intelligent this time around.

I also think that seeing the debate first-hand affected my perception of everything. It's like the Kennedy-Nixon debate where people who watched on television thought Kennedy won and people who listened on the radio thought Nixon won. I think on television it's a lot easier to pick at their mannerisms and every little stumble, while oddly enough seeing it in person I tended to just listen to what they had to say.

Now I will say that in my opinion I think Kerry won the debate. Take that for what it's worth. No matter what happened in the debate, people from both sides will find a way to argue that their guy did better.

I got outside and was curious to go watch the motorcade leave but it was a little out of view and I was only able to see the tail end of the ambulance and all the police.

All of the "noteworthy" people at the debate made their way over to the media filing center, which was just a zoo. Reporters were just jumping all over everyone as soon as they got out of Gammage. There were people walking around holding up people's names so the media could follow them around. To find Jesse Jackson, you just had to look for a big "Jackson" sign sticking up out of a mass of people.

I just walked around for a little while taking everything in, watching all the people walk by. I was surpised to see Emmitt Smith and his wife come walking out. For a minute I thought I was the only one who noticed until channel 10 jumped all over him. Unfortunately I couldn't hear Emmitt's take on everything. I will say though, that he was the best dressed person that I saw all night.

There was so much going on that I didn't want to go home. I thought that I might as well just hang around because I'd never see anything like this again. It was one of the most interesting things I've ever been a part of. I hope that the way I've described it all has been at least a little interesting as well.

Arrival

2004-10-13T14:26:00.000-07:00

I must say that the people at the credential center could have been a little more polite. They seemed rather upset that I wasn't sure where to go. I would have thought that it was their job to direct me to the right place. Anyways, I got my new credential. I guess the one I had wouldn't have gotten me the necessary access so now I'm set to go.

I had to park about two miles from Gammage. I normally park north of campus, but I usually can take the bus around campus. Today, however, the Flash only goes to the north edge of campus because of the street closures around the auditorium. So I just decided to walk. It was a little hot outside, especially wearing all black, but I'm a trooper so I made it.

The parking lots and campus itself were relatively deserted. Classes weren't officially canceled but I guess that a lot of professors decided it made the most sense to give students the day off. I'm sure that classes that were held were pretty empty anyways.

I walked by the Memorial Union where most of the activity on campus is at this time. CNN and CNBC are broadcasting live from there. Lots of students are out there with their signs and shirts and everything. I know that the political process is very important, but I don't understand why people go so nuts over it. I've seen more than a few heated arguments on campus the last few days. Politics is the most divisive thing in society next to religion, and even that can enter in to the discussion. My view is that discussion is alright, but people need to recognize that their are differing opinions- that's part of living in a democracy. There is no sense in fighting over it all. That's just my two cents, but I'm rambling.

I saw a sign at the Student Services building that said "volunteer check-in" so naturally I went there. An employee of the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) offered to show me the way to the auditorium and show me around.

We had to walk down to Apache, which if you don't know is south of Gammage. We flashed our credentials to get inside the outer fence. (By the way, I was told that the only people with higher security clearance than me were Secret Service, so I really felt like a big shot.) There were a couple of buses blocking the road in case somebody busted through the outer fence. Police were everywhere. Snipers were standing around in gray jumpsuits. I can't say I've ever seen anything like it.

Then we passed through another fence, and then the metal detectors and x-ray machine area. Now that I was finally in, I took a look around.

If you're in Tempe, you have seen the huge tent outside Gammage. That is the media filing center. There are rows and rows of tables and televisions where all kinds of media outlets are preparing. There is also a row of booths called "spin alley" where they can broadcast from.

At the end of the tent they have a free buffet and bar compliments of Anhueiser Busch. If I'd known that it was all free, I would have shown up much earlier, but I have to get inside and find out what I have to do.

Introduction

2004-10-13T12:42:00.000-07:00

My name is David Hirigoyen. I am a 21 year old Journalism/Mass Communications senior at Arizona State University, site of the third and final presidential debate this evening. I will be volunteering at the debate as a photo runner.

At this point, I'm not exactly sure as to what my job entails. All I know is that I'm supposed to wear all black and that I need to be at Gammage Auditorium at 3:30 p.m. We'll see exactly how much of the debate I get to see. I'm not quite sure what to expect at all at this point.

I plan on heading out pretty early for a couple of reasons. Needless to say, security is tight, and therefore traffic and parking should be a mess. Also, I just got a phone call that informed me that I have the wrong credential, so I have to go to the off-site credential center to pick it up.

The purpose of this is to share my experiences, hopefully from inside the debate. I hope to provide you with some interesting details that won't be available on television. We'll see what happens.