Media frenzy begins well before debate

As the vice presidential candidates sparred and debated political policy, much cacophony occurred outside the debate hall in “Spin Alley,” one half of the recreational gym where hundreds of reporters scurried to spin their stories on the event.

Equipped with 70 40-inch flat screen Sony televisions, hundreds of members of the media watched the debate from the transformed recreational gym, holding in no expressions as they sighed, laughed and muttered while Biden and Palin made their points.

Howard Fineman, columnist for Newsweek and a regular contributor to MSNBC on Hardball and Countdown with Keith Olbermann, added that the reaction of the campaign managers and media members in Spin Alley serves as a strong indicator of the how the candidates fared.

“One of the things I actually look for is how the other reporters react. What makes them laugh, what takes their breath away, what makes them murmur,” Fineman said. “You can often tell by the look on their face or the tone of their voice, more than they are saying. If their candidate has had a bad night, they can’t hide it.”

Joseph Byme of Talk News Radio in Washington, D.C. said that much of tonight’s story actually occurred in spin alley.

“We have talk radio hosts all over the country that are going to look for the color, the behind the scenes. For us, it’s not about covering the circus, it’s covering the people covering the circus,” Byme said.

With over five photocopy machines set up throughout the debate, the McCain-Palin campaign distributed hundreds of copies of debate fact-sheets to members of the media that positioned the Republican ticket on top of the Democrats while detailing specific points that Palin made throughout the debate. In total there were ten different fact sheets ranging from bipartisanship to the timetable of the war in Iraq.

The Obama-Biden camp did not issue any fact sheets.

Sophomore Jeremy Carlson serve as a debate volunteer that copied and delivered the debate fact sheets to the press.  

“I think it is important that Palin reporters have an opportunity to analyze the situation and that the republican pundits have an opportunity to know their view,“ Carlson said.

After the debate, the atmosphere was energized and frantic as reporters rushed to interview pundits and politicians who came to spin the debate in favor of their preferred party.

Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico, Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani were among the politicians available for interviews. In addition to print media interviews, major television networks were grabbing the experts for live interviews.

NBC political analyst Andrea Mitchell, who conducted live interviews before the debate, said she thrives on this type of environment.

“They were great. It was hard for me to hear, but it was so great. We love doing live shows,” Mitchell said. 

With 3,100 credentialed media members, the most ever for a vice presidential debate, CNN political correspondent Dana Bash attributed the unprecedented attention this event has garnered to Palin.

“I’ve been covering politics for a while, and I don’t remember anything this intriguing,” Bash said. “I’d say that in terms of the energy, it’s night and day compared to the last debate.”
Chancellor Wrighton added that the media presence on campus last night was unmatched, and enhanced the political energy on campus.

“The media presence on this occasion is far greater than either of the presidential debates in 2000 and 2004,” Wrighton said. “This will be the most heavily watched political event in history.”

Bash added that the University campus was so charged that it did not even feel like a political event. 

“The feel and the atmosphere and the energy is more like going to Vegas for a prize fight than going to St. Louis for a political debate.”

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