1. Some political journalists justify this as their Super Bowl, but the fact is it is a giant party, a chance to schmooze, drink and otherwise carouse with folks who are their sources or are potential sources. Not saying they don't work their asses off, but mostly covering the same story as the rest of the pack, maybe with slight variations. Given the mostly shitty wages, long hours and crap they normally have to cover, not sure I can begrudge them a bit of a getaway.
2. Some political journalists recognize that scoring a big scoop or getting punched on the floor of the convention like Dan Rather did is a ticket to ride. So they play the slim odds that lightning will strike them.
3. Some of those credentialed as journalists are actually professional pundits, and for that class of creature, the convention is a must-attend in the same way that hookers have to attend Super Bowls and party conventions. It's where they make their money. (I'm not calling pundits prostitutes. Especially since I occasionally partake in punditry.)
4. The vast majority of journalists are hard-working, well-intentioned believers in their role in democracy, even if some of their stories are duplicative of other reporters' work. Some will break new ground, get that scoop interview, catch Sarah Palin on the dance floor, etc. But others are just vanity assignments for their newspapers or websites back home that, yes, frankly could have spent the money more wisely to reveal myriad things about their hometown delegates, the big corporate donors fueling and using either convention as a political speed-dating or lap-dancing opportunity.
5. Yes, much of the journalism money being spent in Tampa could be spent better elsewhere, illuminating other aspects of the campaigns, or democracy back home, especially when it comes to following the money. I like what the Sunlight Foundation does with its "Political Party Time" website, tracking the fundraising parties and other events where the real work of closed-door politics takes place. It has folks onsite at the RNC, and that's a good use of money.
6. Lastly, it's a free country, and the media (despite Fox News' assertions to the contrary) do not represent a vast, left-wing conspiracy (although now that we've all got HBO's "The Newsroom" to take directions from, we might just be able to pull it together). So small papers are going to send their reporters for the "folks back home" when it really doesn't make a lot of sense to do so. Part of that whole "branding" thing so they can brag on them later.
And in rebuttal to Jarvis, The Big Tent's Michael Kruse defending his Tampa Bay Times like this:
I think the Tampa Bay Times does important work. I think PolitiFact does important work. I think there are too many stories (see the rebuke of media by Eric Deggans on his blog, the Feed) that are simplistic and lazy.
But I also think there are many that aren't (see Adam Smith's piece today on why Florida matters). I think being here and being back home "covering voters and their issues" shouldn't be an either-or thing. I think the answer is not to stay away. I think the answer is to come and work better and harder and smarter.
Kruse is right, it shouldn't be an either-or proposition. But Jarvis recognizes an economic truth these days: it has become one.
