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Reporter Blows the Lid Off DNC “Secret Media Meeting”

The Democratic National Convention will be held in Charlotte, N.C. this year. As The Charlotte Observer reports, the DNC committee has decided to shorten the 2012 national convention from 4 days to three, and has also decided to move the events to Charlotte’s two biggest outdoor arenas, Bank of America Stadium and Charlotte Motor Speedway. On Thursday, Mark Washburn, also a reporter with The Charlotte Observer, expressed his dismay  about the way 500 reporters that were called to the BOA stadium for a tour of their new September digs for the DNC convention this year, in which were told that the meeting would be strictly “off the record” and kept hush-hush, as in no telling folks what was said at this meeting.

It wasn’t the price of reporting this years event that rankled Mr. Washburn, which includes their designated “spots” to do their stand up reporting going for $1200 to $1800 bucks, or the six packs of Budweiser having to be bought from the areas vendor for $31.50 a pop, or even the revelation that the “media suites” would cost the reporter’s expense accounts about $25 grand.  All of that was taken with a grain of salt, as many media elitists stated, “it was less than they paid in Denver four years ago.” What rankled Mr. Washburn during the media tour for the 2012 DNC convention was the “cone of silence” demanded of them during the first order of business discussion. Mr. Washburn had the audacity to stand up to speak out against being told that things discussed at this meeting would be “off the record.” In his own words,  Mr. Washburn doesn’t like off- the-record. He prefers in-the-newspaper.  Good for him.

So what happened when Mr. Washburn stood up and spoke out against the gestapo-style cone of silence being imposed on them by Karen Burchard, the director of media logistics for this event? Mr. Theodore LeCompte, the chief operating officer for the convention committee promptly stood up and set Mr. Washburn straight: “If there are issues with the ground rules, you are perfectly welcome not to attend this session,” he said.  This comes a day after the DNC,  in announcing this years changes to the convention also promised to make it the “the most open and accessible in history.” Where have we heard that kind of false rhetoric before? Oh yes, during Barack Obama’s 2008 undefined hope and change campaign where we were told he would run the “most open and transparent” administration in history if elected.  This most recent statement of open and accessible DNC propaganda concerning this years convention, is just as credible today as it was back in 2008, which has now been proven to be just a bunch of hot air and Democratic party propaganda.

In another show of gestapo-style information management at this “media meeting”, popped up when Mr. Washburn notes that around lunchtime, “Chris Miller, morning news reporter on WBT-AM (1110) and one of the journalists in town you probably don’t want to push around, had been pulled aside by a convention press aide. She was concerned about a tweet he had sent that began, “DNC official just announced everything is now off-the-record.” He says she reminded him everything was off the record. Real-time monitoring of reporters tweets at a media meeting? Censorship comes to mind there, real nasty thugocracy and media bullying 101 on full display for all to see. Of course the DNC “director of communications and public affairs”, Kristie Greco takes openness and transparency to a whole new level when Mr. Washburn confronted her about being approached by DNC staff and told to shush. “Those are off-the-record conversations,” she said. “We will not confirm these conversations.”

 

Somewhere, Josef Goebbels is sure to be smiling at this blatant example of  DNC media manipulation  and the usage of progressive propaganda to make people think the DNC convention is all about “openness and accessibility.”  ( while swearing reporters to secrecy)

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