sexta-feira, agosto 20, 2004
Many Newspapers Plan Extensive Coverage of RNC Protests
By Charles Geraci
NEW YORK - Leading newspapers across the country are planning to pay a good deal of attention to those protesting the Republican National Convention, which begins here Aug. 30. Several papers, including The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, The Philadelphia Daily News, Newsday of Melville, N.Y., and The Dallas Morning News, will have reporters on hand whose primary duty will be to cover protests and security.
"If there's a convention where you'll have upwards of a million people protesting a sitting president and his party, that's newsworthy by any definition," said Michael Powell, New York Bureau Chief for the Washington Post (Click for QuikCap).
The Plain Dealer of Cleveland is "approaching the protests as a very serious potential news story," said Mark Naymik, political writer for the paper. "One of the reasons we are going in early is to cover the protests."
The Dallas Morning News will also probably assign a couple of extra staffers to report on the protests on the night before the convention starts, since that's when protesters plan to hold a massive march to Madison Square Garden, the site of the convention. "The bigger it gets, or the more violent it gets, the bigger the story for us," said Ryan Rusak, the paper's assistant political editor.
Joycelyn Winnecke, the Chicago Tribune's associate managing editor for national news, said, "The protests are something we will look at every day and, I imagine, they will merit a daily presence in the paper." The Tribune will have two to three full-time reporters on duty to cover this aspect of the Republican convention.
The Philadelphia Daily News will be sending its columnist known as "Riotgrrrl."
But most of the editors and political reporters interviewed by E&P do not think this year's RNC protests will rival those of the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago or the 1972 Republican National Convention in Miami.
The Post's Powell does not expect "wide, broad violence" in New York. "The demonstrators and police seem to have a general interest in allowing mass protests to occur without violence," he said. "Broad violence strikes me as possible but unlikely."
"I don't think they will get as violent or intense as Chicago in '68," said Dane Smith, political reporter for the Star Tribune of Minneapolis. "Anybody who wants Kerry elected knows that out-of-control protests is not going to help him at all." The Star Tribune will not assign a full-time reporter to cover the protests unless they get as bad as Chicago in '68, according to Dennis McGrath, the paper's national/international editor.
Smith also believes that "the protesters' concern about propriety in the place where 9/11 occurred" will be a factor along with tightened security controls.
Philadelphia Inquirer Editor Amanda Bennett believes the social climate in the United States today does not compare to that in 1968, and does not foresee this year's demonstrations as being as intense or violent.
Powell of the Washington Post said that the paper's decision to vigorously cover GOP opponents is not connected with its recent admission that the paper's coverage prior to the Iraq war lacked proper balance and was tilted to the Bush administration's claims. "No matter what the circumstances, we would be covering this," Powell said.
The hometown New York Times has already been covering the protest plans almost daily, with a major article today on what anarchists hope to pull off.
Protesters were also present during the recent Democratic convention in Boston, but in small numbers.
Charles Geraci (cgeraci@editorandpublisher.com) is a reporter for E&P.
NEW YORK - Leading newspapers across the country are planning to pay a good deal of attention to those protesting the Republican National Convention, which begins here Aug. 30. Several papers, including The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, The Philadelphia Daily News, Newsday of Melville, N.Y., and The Dallas Morning News, will have reporters on hand whose primary duty will be to cover protests and security.
"If there's a convention where you'll have upwards of a million people protesting a sitting president and his party, that's newsworthy by any definition," said Michael Powell, New York Bureau Chief for the Washington Post (Click for QuikCap).
The Plain Dealer of Cleveland is "approaching the protests as a very serious potential news story," said Mark Naymik, political writer for the paper. "One of the reasons we are going in early is to cover the protests."
The Dallas Morning News will also probably assign a couple of extra staffers to report on the protests on the night before the convention starts, since that's when protesters plan to hold a massive march to Madison Square Garden, the site of the convention. "The bigger it gets, or the more violent it gets, the bigger the story for us," said Ryan Rusak, the paper's assistant political editor.
Joycelyn Winnecke, the Chicago Tribune's associate managing editor for national news, said, "The protests are something we will look at every day and, I imagine, they will merit a daily presence in the paper." The Tribune will have two to three full-time reporters on duty to cover this aspect of the Republican convention.
The Philadelphia Daily News will be sending its columnist known as "Riotgrrrl."
But most of the editors and political reporters interviewed by E&P do not think this year's RNC protests will rival those of the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago or the 1972 Republican National Convention in Miami.
The Post's Powell does not expect "wide, broad violence" in New York. "The demonstrators and police seem to have a general interest in allowing mass protests to occur without violence," he said. "Broad violence strikes me as possible but unlikely."
"I don't think they will get as violent or intense as Chicago in '68," said Dane Smith, political reporter for the Star Tribune of Minneapolis. "Anybody who wants Kerry elected knows that out-of-control protests is not going to help him at all." The Star Tribune will not assign a full-time reporter to cover the protests unless they get as bad as Chicago in '68, according to Dennis McGrath, the paper's national/international editor.
Smith also believes that "the protesters' concern about propriety in the place where 9/11 occurred" will be a factor along with tightened security controls.
Philadelphia Inquirer Editor Amanda Bennett believes the social climate in the United States today does not compare to that in 1968, and does not foresee this year's demonstrations as being as intense or violent.
Powell of the Washington Post said that the paper's decision to vigorously cover GOP opponents is not connected with its recent admission that the paper's coverage prior to the Iraq war lacked proper balance and was tilted to the Bush administration's claims. "No matter what the circumstances, we would be covering this," Powell said.
The hometown New York Times has already been covering the protest plans almost daily, with a major article today on what anarchists hope to pull off.
Protesters were also present during the recent Democratic convention in Boston, but in small numbers.
Charles Geraci (cgeraci@editorandpublisher.com) is a reporter for E&P.
# posted by Rui Ferreira @ 10:16 da manhã 
