From left: Chicago Federation of Labor president Bob Reiter, Ald. Walter Burnett, DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Mayor Brandon Johnson, DNC committee chief Minyon Moore and convention executive director Alex Hornbrook on Wednesday at the Uhited Center.
Lynn Sweet/Sun-Times
There are 89 days before the 2024 Democratic Convention kicks off in Chicago, and hundreds of media members – that’s national and local outlets, podcasters, content creators and sorry if I overlooked an emerging category — gathered at the United Center on Wednesday for briefings — with Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson making unannounced appearances.
This “walk-through” was a combo event — a lot of practical logistical information about media work areas in and outside the United Center, costs, access and credentials — with a dose of wooing the people who will be, from assorted angles and platforms, covering the presidential nominating convention that sets up the Biden-Trump rematch.
“We really want to make sure that you have everything you need so that when President Biden is renominated in August, you will have all the photos, you will have all the messaging, you will have all the positioning that you need to make sure that you can telegraph for the world why it’s so important to reelect President Joe Biden and Kamala Harris,” said Minyon Moore, the Chicago native who is the 2024 Democratic National Convention chair.
Johnson, using a euphemism to underscore his boosterism, said it will “happen in the greatest freaking city on the planet.” Turning to the tough state of the news media — a natural subject, given the audience — Johnson noted, “You’ve seen an erosion of the media landscape here in Chicago with cutbacks and layoffs. It certainly has squeezed outlets and reporters alike,” he said, not naming names.
Pritzker, a top surrogate for the Biden-Harris ticket, zinged former President Donald Trump with a variation of a line I first heard in March, when Pritzker was in Virginia trying to minimize the issue of Biden’s age that concerns some voters. Trump was “stupid and ignorant long before he got old,” Pritzker said.
It would be surprising if Pritzker did not get a prime speaking slot at the convention, running Aug. 19-22, and his remarks on Wednesday seemed to preview a refrain that could translate into a stem-winder. “It’s a choice,” Pritkzer said, offering a string of contrasts between Biden and Trump.
Anita Dunn, Biden’s top White House adviser and one of the key architects of the convention and the Biden re-election campaign, said the convention will also be looking to the future. “It will be about what we’ve done and more importantly, where we’re headed.”
There were basically three categories of media getting briefings Wednesday:
· Print, radio and television outlets that are “legacy” media.
· Specialty press, which includes local community outlets in Chicago and publications — no matter the platform — focused on readers who are Black, Brown, Asian American or covering other special-interest groups.
· Creators or Influencers, a group Democrats are cultivating, whether from the White House, the campaign in general or the convention in particular. Convention and campaign organizers will be lavishing these pro-Biden influencers with a lot of attention because they reach potential voters who otherwise may not be engaged in the 2024 election.
A Democratic convention spokesperson said, “The media and information landscape has completely transformed since the last in-person convention in 2016. The Democratic National Convention team is finding new and creative ways to bring our story and our content to the American people so that we can meet them where they’re at, and that includes looking beyond traditional media to the content creators and influencers whose content reaches Americans across the country.”
Among those invited were the “I’ve Had It” podcast creators, Jennifer Welch and Angie Sullivan, who last month interviewed Harris.
Media workspace details
The United Center parking lot bordered by West Adams Street and North Honore Street will be the home of a media village. A media pavilion, a temporary structure, will be built there with work space for news outlets, separated by drapes. This site will also house network compounds for NBC, Fox, CNN, ABC, CBS and TBS.
Over at 15 S. Woods, the Advocate Center, a Chicago Bulls training facility, will be transformed into other media work space. There will also be media rows and space at the United Center and McCormick Place for outlets to do interviews and shows — especially those listened to by hard-to-reach voters seen as crucial to Biden’s re-election.
And … there will be a giant media welcome party Aug. 17.
Other dignitaries speaking
Dignitaries also on the speaking bill: Ald. Walter Burnett, whose 27th Ward includes the United Center; Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison and Chicago Federation of Labor president Bob Reiter.
There was no concern expressed by officials about the potential impact of demonstrators, especially those protesting the Israel-Hamas war and Biden’s policies.