When it comes to the Democratic National Convention in Denver and its Republican counterpart in St. Paul, Minn., Denver is decidedly behind when it comes to media relations and protest planning centering, according to The St. Paul Pioneer Press. The Minnesota newspaper has compared convention preparations — a sort of a battle of the cities — with contests ranging from which city has done the best to promote “civic engagement” to which city will have the best celebrity glitterati.
When it comes to media relations and protest plans, Denver definitely trails:
PROTEST ROUTE
St. Paul
Sure, it’s landed the city in federal court. But St. Paul has granted a route that takes protesters as close as any post-9/11 political convention protest has been. While the protesters aren’t happy about the route and start time, the city also will provide a stage and sound system to let protesters make their views known.
Denver
The route in Denver ends in a parking lot, which police claim can accommodate up to 50,000 people. It is within sight and sound of the Pepsi Center … sort of. But it’s nowhere near as close as protesters will get to the Xcel Center in St. Paul.
ADVANTAGE: St. Paul. What remains to be seen is how each city’s police force handles the crowds.
MEDIA RELATIONS
St. Paul
The TV networks are completing coverage plans, and convention staffers have apportioned space for the media. The city is sprucing up, even resurfacing a parking lot across from the Xcel Center expected to be used by media trucks.
Denver
Convention officials canceled a spring media "walk through," where media organizations have a chance to set up their operations. The move was widely seen as a sign of disarray and forced airline reservations to be canceled or switched.
ADVANTAGE: St. Paul. At an event largely designed to use the media to send a message, upsetting them is not good strategy.
Although the The St. Paul Pioneer Press concludes that St. Paul holds a 5-3 lead over Denver in the contest, Colorado counterparts can at least take pride in knowing that what Denver lacks in civil liberties protection preparations it makes up for in star power — with celebrities like Susan Sarandon and Spike Lee planning to attend the Democratic convention.
