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Executive Producer Mark Squier Gives DNC a 9 Out of 10

LibertySugar — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 10:00:00 -0700

The Democratic National Convention, and the Obama-bump that followed, may seem far in the past, but the event will surely live on in history. I got a chance to ask a few questions to Mark Squier, an executive producer of the extremely successful (and fun) Democratic National Convention. When he's not coordinating massive political pageantry, Mark masters smaller-scale political messaging. He has produced ads for numerous members of Congress and governors, and acts as a strategic adviser to many more politicians. Now that the dust of both conventions has settled, take a behind-the-scenes look at the DNC with Mark!

On a scale of 1 to 10 how happy are you with how the DNC turned out?
10 being the highest — a 9. Nothing is ever perfect but this was close. When you consider we had a late primary so we didn't get guidance from a nominee until June — and we had two venues. We didn't have a major malfunction. You have to be happy with the way it turned out. And a shout out to everyone who worked at the Denver convention — the team that was put together was outstanding and it was easy to look good when you had such a committed and hardworking team in your corner. Oh — and not to mention Barack Obama — an incredible candidate to work with in every way.

How do you explain viewership that beat even the Olympics Opening Ceremony?
Americans are worried — it's human nature — they know things are on the wrong track; the wars, the economy, gas prices, health care costs, high unemployment, the national debt, the mortgage crisis. Voters feel these things every day and they know that this election is critically important to getting our nation back on track — so they watch.

To find out if Mark would have done something differently if Hillary Clinton would have won the nomination, how he kept the convention from looking like C-Span, what he thought of the RNC, and if there were any close calls with disaster,

Did You Watch Convention Speeches on the Internet?

geeksugar — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 13:10:33 -0700

What's so interesting about John McCain's speech at the Republican National Convention bringing in slightly more viewers than Barack Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention to geeksugar? It's interesting because this election has involved the Internet in an inextricable fashion — so much so that this data, the viewing habits of live broadcast television only, could be kinda skewed.What I'm getting at is that I know a lot of people who didn't tune in to their regular broadcast to watch either speech, and instead watched videos of the speeches online. In fact, since the Internet is where I, and many others, have been getting their election coverage, it makes sense that you wouldn't turn on the TV to watch a speech, confident that they would make it on YouTube (like most important things these days). So tell me, if you watched any of the convention speeches, did you watch them online?

Did You Watch Convention Speeches on the Internet?

Yes, I watched the speeches on the Internet.

No, I watched the speeches on live TV.

No, I recorded them on my DVR and watched them later.

I didn't watch any convention speeches.

Something else. See my comment below!

Looking Back: Which Party's Convention Was the Best?

CitizenSugar — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 10:00:11 -0700

Phew. I've run into quite a few people over the past few weeks who've seen both conventions top to bottom, and the question came up last night after the last balloon settled: Which convention was the best? In my mind it can be answered on a couple of levels — which convention looked the best, or which was more fun — but when it comes down to it, I think the real question is: Which convention did its job the best?My mom reported in after McCain's speech saying, "I was worried when McCain started, but was in tears at the end. Your grandpa wanted me to take him to the post office to sign up again." While that's a rousing testimony to be sure, they were solid McCain voters before anyone set foot in St. Paul. So what do you all think? You've seen our coverage of both conventions — which party's did its job with an A++ super-gold star?

Looking Back: Which Party's Convention Was the Best?

The Republicans. They responded to disaster, kept it business-like, and Palin rocked.

The Democrats. The force of 80,000 people plus stellar content and production ruled.

Neither. The conventions are nothing but pomp. I'm pretty glad they're done.

Both. Each had a different job to do, and they responded well in kind.

Other. You got your balloon drop! I'll tell you what I think in the comments.

They Said What? Frequency of Words Used by the Parties

CitizenSugar — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:00:24 -0700

Now that it's all done but sweeping up the balloons, the New York Times, ever the data-doyenne, has a different way of looking at who said what these conventions. Bubbles of varying sizes show the amount of times per 25,000 words uttered, that certain phrases were used.

Interestingly, the "opponent's name" count varies pretty wildly — the Democrats used McCain's name 78 times to the Republican's use of Obama a mere 25 times. Up there for both parties? "Change" and "God." While the Republicans were twice as godly, and the Democrats three times as change-y, it seems like both have see the benefit to grabbing both traditional and forward-thinking tropes.

The graph also let's you see who said what — Obama used McCain's name 3.5 times more, and McCain grabbed the "change" mantel from Obama just over half as often. Watching the two conventions, do any of the results surprise you? What do you make of the disparity between use of the opponent's name?

Source

The Tale of Two Tents: Bloggers and the Traditional Media

LibertySugar — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 13:00:53 -0700

In Denver we got a chance to check out both the blogger tent set up by Google, YouTube, Digg and DailyKos, as well as the traditional media tent set up right outside the Pepsi Center. And believe me, these two tents could not have been more different.

Over in the Google tent bloggers and laptops crowded together at long tables or comfy couches set up in a tent kept dark to make up for the lack of air conditioning. The gang of new media gave off the vibe that it was there to crash the party — only 150 of the 500 bloggers, who paid $100 for space in the Big Tent, had official DNC credentials,

Over at the traditional media tent, publications like the Washington Post had about 60 staffers each, stationed in makeshift offices, complete with ample desk space, air conditioning, and fancy computers. But don't worry — both media headquarters had plenty of flat screens and an abundance of food.

Google will be back with its Big Tent next week at RNC. To see video of a real-life blogger, and more pictures,

Oh What a Week It Was: Recap of the 2008 DNC

CitizenSugar — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 07:00:43 -0700

We're gearing up for this week's Republican National Convention, which begins Monday, but that doesn't mean we've already forgotten some of the amazing moments from last week's Democratic National Convention.

Barack's Big Speech Incited Passion in the Crowd	VP Candidate Joe Biden Took the Stage	Hillary's Speech Helped Unite the Party
Michele Joined Nancy to Support Barack	Celebrity Sightings at the DNC	We Looked at Convention Costs: Past and Present

Ben Affleck Says Successes in Africa Inspire Him to Do More

LibertySugar — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:00:00 -0700

I checked out a panel on combating global poverty this week, filled with a diverse set of people ready to talk about their experiences surrounding the issue. I was super excited to see panel members like ex-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, and the bearded and articulate Ben Affleck.

A humble Ben noted that he felt a bit out of place, but then shared what he's learned from his time in Africa. Ben thinks poverty activists need to re-package their message so it's not so doom and gloom. He argued that it's "more effective to talk about what people are doing successfully. [The successes] gave me added urgency to get involved."

Ben also highlighted how he and other Western folk are received in Africa. He said:

The countries that hold us in the highest esteem are in Africa. We don't carry colonial baggage. . . . [But] Western folks come in with a sense that "this is how it works." Imposing paradigm is much less effective than imposing solutions into social grooves. You hear people say, "If you teach a man to fish . . ." These people know how to fish, they need a pond to fish in.

Does Ben's insight impress you as much as it impressed me?

One Last View of Obama's Nomination Acceptance Speech

CitizenSugar — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 19:16:04 -0700

We're back from Denver! Ah, air that's not mile-high — that's some killer altitude. While I was unpacking I found this clip that was too good not to share. CNN may have had their fancy cameras, but this is some serious embedded journalism.

Get Flash to see this player.

It's pretty amazing view to say the least. The flashbulbs are my favorite part. Enjoy!

Egaffes! Was Joe Biden's Freudian Slip For Real?

CitizenSugar — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:00:35 -0700

Now that the Democratic convention has come to a close, one question remains. In his big speech this week Democratic vice-presidential nominee, Joe Biden, tripped over his words in the most elegant way. So elegant, it's left us wondering if it was scripted or in fact pure gaffe.

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He said, "That's the America that George Bush has left us, and that's the America we'll continue to get if George . . . excuse me, if John McCain is elected president. . . . Freudian slip! . . . Freudian slip." Was it?

Egaffes! Was Joe Biden's Freudian Slip For Real?

For reals. And it was a pretty good save, to boot.

So staged! But who cares? It added to the Bush-McCain connection.

I don't know. I just want Obama to appear overhead like the Wizard of Oz again.

I'll slip my own thoughts into the comments below.

The Morning After: Our Reactions to Obama's Change Promise

PopSugar — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:50:34 -0700

The Morning After: Our Reactions to Obama's Change Promise Last night I saw Americans who have been hiding in the shadows of apathy or cynicism come out and get excited about the future of their country. Americans who showed that they can wait in a line for hours, just to participate in a celebration of their power to make a difference.