Staking my claim at Obama
Greg Timm
Issue date: 11/11/09 Section: Opinion
THUD! (bounce) Thud. I looked to my left and saw the accident that had just occurred. A giant tripod, belonging to a local TV news station and weighing many hundreds of pounds had just slipped, fallen, and landed mere inches from crushing a giant telephoto camera lens (a 400mm f/2.8, if you must know, which costs more than ten grand).
The press had been assigned spaces on three rows of raised platforms in the back of the gym. I was sandwiched, with the White House television press in front of me, a photographer from a local magazine to my right, a photographer for Getty Images to my left, and a local TV news station behind me. Everyone has his or her spot, which was marked with a piece of white tape with a name written on it. Mine said: Clarion.
I, like the rest of the press, had to have our equipment dropped off before 8 a.m. then, for security reasons, were kicked out of the gym until 11 a.m. The President was scheduled to speak at 1:30 p.m. so for three hours the press did what we do best: bicker and vie for the best shot and position.
It was the television stations that were giving everyone else trouble, or more specifically, the reporters from local television stations. Their problem was the giant tripods and camera operators took up all of their assigned space (about a four foot by four foot square). Their solution: invade the space of the photographers in front of them.
A producer for a local news station, approached me asking for a favor. She wanted my space- so her reporter could do live crowd shots and still be in the frame. As she asked this, the reporter had already invaded my space and was in the process of elbowing the magazine lady out of the frame. Since Obama was an hour away, I gave in. I knew it was stupid, but I was trying to be a good person (a mistake I won't make again).
The reporter took twice as much time as the producer and I had agreed on, and when I finally went to reclaim my space he was reluctant to give it up (it was a really good space, after all).
A few words and snarky remarks were exchanged along the lines of, "the spot over there is much better for a college paper," but I didn't relent and eventually got my space back.
The press had been assigned spaces on three rows of raised platforms in the back of the gym. I was sandwiched, with the White House television press in front of me, a photographer from a local magazine to my right, a photographer for Getty Images to my left, and a local TV news station behind me. Everyone has his or her spot, which was marked with a piece of white tape with a name written on it. Mine said: Clarion.
I, like the rest of the press, had to have our equipment dropped off before 8 a.m. then, for security reasons, were kicked out of the gym until 11 a.m. The President was scheduled to speak at 1:30 p.m. so for three hours the press did what we do best: bicker and vie for the best shot and position.
It was the television stations that were giving everyone else trouble, or more specifically, the reporters from local television stations. Their problem was the giant tripods and camera operators took up all of their assigned space (about a four foot by four foot square). Their solution: invade the space of the photographers in front of them.
A producer for a local news station, approached me asking for a favor. She wanted my space- so her reporter could do live crowd shots and still be in the frame. As she asked this, the reporter had already invaded my space and was in the process of elbowing the magazine lady out of the frame. Since Obama was an hour away, I gave in. I knew it was stupid, but I was trying to be a good person (a mistake I won't make again).
The reporter took twice as much time as the producer and I had agreed on, and when I finally went to reclaim my space he was reluctant to give it up (it was a really good space, after all).
A few words and snarky remarks were exchanged along the lines of, "the spot over there is much better for a college paper," but I didn't relent and eventually got my space back.
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