Journalists work in the Google media filing center in Des Moines, Iowa. Photo by Kelsey Kremer, Iowa State Daily.
At the Iowa caucuses, the Des Moines visitors’ bureau set up a media center that included television backdrops, wi-fi, snacks, coffee and Google goodies.
Workstations cost $400 each for established media organizations and $200 each for blogging stations, according to Erika Fry at Columbia Journalism Review. Not all traditional media or bloggers plunked down the money, Fry wrote, and political parties provided other media access points.
Watching the political hot spots can help Charlotte media folk know what to expect during the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte in September 2012. The S.C. primary still lies ahead, but plans are starting to gel in Charlotte, and the PPL group has been working on access to free space for media, especially independent media. Charlotte’s expecting up to 15,000 journalists for the convention.
DNC organizers are making their pitches for institutional sponsorships in Washington, D.C., now.
The details from Politico:
The top fundraising package is appropriately named “Presidential” for those who raise $1 million. In return, the convention promises a premier uptown hotel room, platinum credential package, platinum events package, concierge services and priority access for rental facilities. It also earns the fundraiser two tickets for the “First in Flight Series,” a number of pre-convention events based in North Carolina with elected officials, political vets and others and four VIP tickets to the “Dialogue Series.”
The first media walk-through of the convention site in Charlotte is Jan. 18.
For a deeper sense of the Iowa scene, take a look at the Google Media Center in Des Moines, through the eyes of Business Insider, Iowa State Daily and Google. See and hear the media circus in a video from Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun Times.
Charlotte SPJ 