THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 16, 1996 TAG: 9608160716
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Opinion
SOURCE: BY DAVE ADDIS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 60 lines
Is it just me, or is anybody else tired of hearing network commentators complaining that the Republican convention was an over-scripted infomercial?
Does anybody else find it a tad petty of Ted Koppel to pack up his ``Nightline'' cameras and go home in a pout?
Does anybody else find it strange that the Republicans tried to control their gathering, knowing that if real animosity broke out, the anchors and analysts would gravely announce that the GOP had ``lost control'' of the convention? And then, for the viewing public, calculate the certain damage that Dole had suffered?
Four years ago, when Pat Buchanan frightened the bejabbers out of most of us with his talk of cultural warfare, the same commentators were quick to analyze how badly he'd hurt George Bush. Hurt it did, and they're still talking about it in 1996.
So is it any wonder the Republicans have tried to avoid a replay?
Isn't the networks' response sort of like whipping your child if he's too loud, then whipping him again when he settles down?
Forget the alleged abortion debate. The convention's true ``Kodak moment'' came when Sam Donaldson tried to grill a delegate about the symbolism of her cowboy hat. The one with a pro-life slogan on the band. It went something like this:
``Susan Molinari is pro-choice,'' Sam said, attacking. ``What will you do with that hat while she's giving the keynote address?''
``Well,'' the woman said, laughing at this lunacy, ``I just guess I'll keep it on.''
Even Donaldson realized how stupid all this sounded. ``If I find a real story,'' he told the folks in the booth, ``I'll let you know.''
When they weren't bemoaning the lack of controversy inside the hall, the reporters went looking for it outside. Popular were those grainy, long-lens camera shots of - gasp! - wealthy people being entertained on fancy yachts owned by - lobbyists!
Like Capt. Renault said in Casablanca, when he discovered gambling at Rick's: ``I'm shocked. Shocked!''
`Scuse me, fellas, but it would be real news if y'all found some wealthy people being entertained in a musty warehouse with Ritz Crackers and Cheez-Whiz.
While ABC was sticking a gilded fork in the eye of wealthy people, we never heard them report what was in the papers this week: Their man Sam Donaldson wants the government to pay to get rid of coyotes who are grazing on the sheep who are grazing on land that Farmer Sam is leasing from the government for $1 an acre.
To me, that's certainly more pernicious - and vastly more interesting.
There are two lessons all of us in the media can take away from this convention season:
The proliferation of early primaries in an all-or-nothing media atmosphere makes it highly unlikely that we'll see another convention in which the winner has not been known for months.
And our crisis mentality - our need to turn the slightest crack in decorum into an unbreachable chasm - has made people very nervous about our ability to keep things in perspective.
KEYWORDS: REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION 1996 by CNB