Behind the Scenes from the DNC

My name is Steve Herbert and I’m the Chief Engineer for KCRW.  One of the many roles I fulfill for the station besides technical support is that of logistical support.   As such, this election year marks the fourth presidential political cycle for which I’ve been sent to by the station in bringing you our programming.

This time we are broadcasting “To The Point” (TTP), live from “workspace” provided by the political parties at both venues at the host cities of Denver and St. Paul.   In Denver, our workspace is located in one of four, 40,000 square foot tents set up in the parking lot of the Pepsi Center, the indoor stadium home to the Denver Nuggets here.

If you are reading this, you’ll recognize that while To The Point from a technical stand point is a fairly straight forward topical interview program, the show itself draws on a  vast and varied database containing contacts of 10’s of thousands of people who can speak intelligently on nearly any subject which is in the news of the day.   As such, the guests are invited to the program. 

 I mention all this because in a typical radio setup at these conventions, there is something called “Talk Show Row”, which consists of rows and rows of tables, clustered together so someone with a point of view and credentials to get past the perimeter security of the venue can effectively appear on dozens of talk shows and radio programs as they work their way down the lines of tables,  with radio stations with their link up back to their studios & host sitting at a 3’wide portion of the table, side by side with the next station or organization.

Because of the nature of To The Point, we do not have our setup on Talk Show Row or a similar ghetto found inside the convention center (or in this case Pepsi Center) called Radio Row where the radio guys can be found under stairwells and crevices along the rings of the arenas.    NPR & American Public Media (two separate organizations) are found in such a crevice behind an awkward segment on the second floor ring of Pepsi.

TTP by contrast typically is housed among the print journalists in workspace a bit removed from the circus atmosphere which engulfs these rows.   In Denver we have 10’ x 15’ piece of real estate backing space occupied by the New York Times and the Boston Globe in our “Media Pavilion”, aka tent.  

To the Point's makeshift studio

While we are furnished the floor space free of charge, EVERYTHING contained in that space we pay for at trade show rental pricing.   Those who have exhibited at a trade show can relate to what I’m about to describe.   Everything is rented.  The tables, chairs, partitions for sound isolation around the parameter, phone lines, internet connection, carpet, electricity…EVERYTHING which makes up the temporary broadcast facility is rented from one of two large trade show “exhibition” companies. 

 Most of the equipment we utilize is owned by the station and used for these remotes and the likes of Morning Becomes Eclectic when on the road.   But unlike MBE, we are dealing with the very quickly shifting sands of politics and time blowing around, attempting to make sense of it and present it to you, the listener.

mobile setup

Fortunately my role is not to produce the content you listen to, but rather plan, create, assemble, order, design, ship, wire, and support everything needed by the producers, technical director and of course Warren to broadcast this from the space.  There are only five of us in total for each political convention.  This means in addition to the above, I get to be a go-fer, meet with guest who are live from the space instructing them on what to expect when they get in front of Warren, how to use the microphone, headphone controls and to remember it’s live radio.   I deal with issues as they arise.  At one minute I may have to create a routing path which lets Warren and the technical director hear the producers at the studios through their headphones without being resending it back to the studios as part of the program.  Another minute I may be meeting a guest and explaining what is about to happen with them.  The next minute I may be correcting a paper jam, fetching a pen, headphones or anything else needed at that moment.  This is not a job a vocational counselor ever will tell you are suited for, and yet it’s something that most people never have an opportunity to experience.  Those producing a program are very demanding and for good reason as they have to have it, and have it now!

In future entries I hope to share some of the encounters we have behind the scene with the delegates, media operatives, action groups, support staffs and volunteers, cops, fire fighters, food vendors and other folks who make up a major political convention like this and some of the contrasts you’ll run into.   

Here’s a small bit of irony to start.   Pepsi and Pepsi products are the only beverage sold  at the Pepsi Center, but our media Pavilions (tents) are furnished with Coke machines.