Stumping In Iowa

Mitt Romney decided to make a campaign stop in Orange City, Iowa, in September.  That’s in our coverage area for KELO, so I got to go with our news crew to live stream the event on KELOLAND.com.  We had to show up more than an hour early and have our equipment in place so they could do a security sweep.  So we set up on the risers, as seen below and headed down the street to the Hardees to wait it out.

After some squabbling with the media coordinator (long story.  I’ll just say he was less than accommodating and rude to the local media because we didn’t PAY to cover Romney – We NEVER pay for access or stories!!! – it goes against our journalistic integrity.  Oh, I could go on, but won’t.) and some problems with cell phone signal (Orange City is a cell signal black hole!), we got the live stream up and I worked the live camera AND my still camera.

Check out the cell phones behind Mr. Romney.  I got a kick out of it!

I’d never been to a presidential campaign stop so I was in for an experience. And really, I couldn’t believe how much of it is just for show. It’s all staged!  I watched as they brought people in and handed them American flags large and small, large letters to spell out ROMNEY in the stands, and then there were the signs, which you may have thought were made by the locals – They’re all campaign props, which Romney referred to during his speech. 

But really, you have to be impressed at the attention to detail (in some areas).  I don’t know if you can see in the image below but there were even campaign stickers/signs, posted on the fronts of every bleacher stair! However, they didn’t get their media passes correct.  The one I got had us in Sioux City on the wrong day. 

President Obama was in the area a few weeks later.  Our weekend web producer got to go to that one – at least her media pass was correct. :o)