Slapstick Politics: Democratic National Convention Countdown, No. 48

Democratic National Convention Daily Digest and Open Thread
Tuesday July 8, 2008--No. 48

•Secret Service has no plans to search DNC protestors in the Public Demonstration Zone

•Rescheduled media walkthrough at the Pepsi Center took place today (slideshow); update on blogger arrangments inside the Pepsi Center reveals less than ideal conditions (blogger lounge in the Nuggets' weight room)

•Obama's decision to move to Invesco Field forces networks to seek cost reductions, including staff cuts and remote anchoring away from the stadiums:

According to several broadcast executives, the networks will still cover all the major speeches. But beyond that, all options are open as they look for savings to balance out the anticipated costs surrounding the stadium event. The acceptance event is an unexpected departure from the traditional convention hall format for which they have spent months planning.

Network executives expect Obama’s relatively late-breaking decision to speak at Invesco Field at Mile High, a 76,000-seat football stadium, could add hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs to already cash-strapped news divisions. Each network has budgeted millions to cover the political conventions, but that spending is already accounted for in specific costs ranging from hotel rooms to staffing to building convention platforms.

For most networks, any additional outlays for the convention would come out of their 2008 campaign budget.

Obama’s decision “makes it enormously more expensive,” said Paul Friedman, senior vice president at CBS News. “It does add to the overall question of how the networks should cover what is a non-news event.”

“We're trying to figure out ways to cover what we need to cover and still stay in our budget,” said Bob Murphy, a 30-year veteran of ABC News and the executive in charge of the network's convention coverage. “The change in the schedule clearly has put some very severe cost issues on the table and we are trying to figure out how to deal with that.”