Black Reporters Should Attend Political ConventionsHarrison Chastangbyline‚ Aug. 06‚ 2008Chronicle editorial writer Caille Millner says in her Monday column that she’s not going to the upcoming Democratic and Republican conventions, and she’s glad she’s not going. Millner implies that as a journalist she need not go to the conventions because, to paraphrase former ABC News anchor Ted Koppel’s assessment of one particularly boring and over scripted GOP convention, there will be no news there. At least Koppel made that observation when he was at the convention. Millner’s assumes nothing will happen at the convention that will be more newsworthy than the subprime mortgage crisis, record high gas prices or other top stories listed in her article. The first rule of sports journalism is that anything can happen so that’s why reporters need to cover every game, and stay at the game until the last out or final second of the game. Not going to the conventions would be like a sports reporter skipping a game of two last place baseball teams, only to miss a no-hit perfect game. Millner probably would have written an editorial saying she was skipping the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago because there were more important things happening in the country. |