Networks Won't Carry Ann Romney Convention Speech

[ClydeR]

Ann Romney planned to give her speech on Monday night. But the networks say they're not going to broadcast Monday night. Now the Romney campaign is scrambling to decide whether or not to move Ann's speech to another night.


This year, the networks will broadcast three hours of live coverage for each convention, as they did in 2004. For the Republican convention, all three networks will broadcast an hour live Tuesday through Thursday.

For the Democratic convention the next week, ABC and CBS will broadcast an hour Tuesday through Thursday.

NBC will skip Wednesday night for an N.F.L. game and devote two hours of coverage on Thursday, when President Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. are scheduled to speak.

More... (www.nytimes.com/2012/08/23/us/politics/limited-convention-coverage-will-leave-ann-romney-off-air.html)

It might be a mixed blessing. Ann Romney is just an okay speaker, and she's definitely not great at interviews (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWdVminV7uY).

Ah, for the good ol' days.


Mr. Wallace recalled how conventions are not what they used to be. “My first convention was in 1964,” he said. “I was Walter Cronkite’s gopher — go for coffee, go for pencils. Those were the days of gavel-to-gavel coverage. Real business got done.”

[ClydeR]

The Republican National Committee is making big changes to the lineup of speakers at the convention next week in Tampa to ensure that broadcast networks cover Ann Romney’s speech. Among the changes most seriously under consideration: moving Marco Rubio to Tuesday night and having Mrs. Romney speak Thursday night in the spot originally reserved for Rubio.

More... (http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/rubio-be-bumped_650742.html)


But the shuffling could mean that the speaker widely considered the best communicator in the Republican party will address the convention at a time when the networks are unlikely to take his entire address live.

Smart move or dumb move?

[ClydeR]

I'm hearing from reliable sources that the convention plans are in total disarray. The delegates are being forced by Romney's surrogates to vote at the beginning of the convention instead of the end like they usually do. The reason for the early voting is to prevent them from having time to reconsider, which many of us hoped they would do. And they're forcing through draconian rule changes to prevent minorities from being heard.

In addition to the fight over rule changes, Isaac is forcing some schedule changes. Republicans are blaming the weather on Michael Steele (http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/michael-steele-to-rnc-dont-blame-me/2012/08/26/309e4436-efb1-11e1-892d-bc92fee603a7_story.html), the black former chairman of the party whom they forced out shortly after the large Republican victories in the 2010 elections. Steele was in charge when they chose Florida.