-It's an unconventional
convention unlike anything
we've had
in the television era.
Conventions are typically
the biggest
television event
of the summer.
They get lots of prime time
air time,
they get full-time coverage
by the cable networks,
they're a big show
and there's a lot of events
leading up to them.
Normally this would be
all developed
and all planned
a year in advance.
The cameras would be ready,
the networks would be ready.
That's not gonna happen
this year.
We're not really exactly sure
what's going to happen
this year.
I think the parties themselves
aren't really sure.
But it's not a normal year
by any means.
The networks have been
diminishing their coverage
of the conventions steadily
over the last few decades.
There's still a fair amount
of interest in them.
There's not much else
on television during the summer.
So the conventions do get
fairly reasonably good ratings,
but the networks have gradually
cut back
on their amount of coverage.
In 2016, they were getting about
an hour
each in prime time
for the speeches.
But the whole point
of a convention is to be
a showcase to promote the party,
to promote the nominee.
If often gives the nominee
a short,
maybe temporary boost
in the polls.
And so, you know,
with all of the changes
and all of the uncertainty
around this,
the real question
is what kind of showcase
is there going to be?
The networks are going to cover
the conventions
to the extent
that they can cover them,
but that's typically now
going to be something
like what
we're doing right here,
which is a bunch of Zoom calls,
a bunch of remote shots,
it makes pretty
terrible television.
It's a fundamental problem for
a president who loves spectacle,
who loves the crowds, who loves
the adulation of the crowds.
He had the rally in Tulsa
despite all the medical advice
against it.
And he would have preferred,
obviously,
to have an arena
filled with cheering people.
This campaign is -- is --
it's basically in some ways
nonexistent.
It's certainly occurring,
but at such a low level
that it's really out
of the mainstream eye.
The Washington Post typically
has dozens of reporters
all around the country
covering all of the events
every single day
and there are no events
really to cover.
We do travel with the president
from time to time,
although that's often handled
by a pool reporter now.
You know, at the same time,
the campaign is usually
the number-one story
leading up to the election.
We've got a few other things
going on right now
that are bigger stories,
so there's not
only less to cover,
there's more important stuff
to cover.
The campaign is a very visual
and fast-moving event,
and it's not that this year.
And it looks very,
very different
than it has in the past.
