Stephen Harper Windsor Rally (en francais)

Great rally in Windsor this afternoon. The turnout was fantastic. Room was overflowing, with the crowd spilling out into the hall. As this was a rally stop there were no announcements. The one thing I wanted to blog about was the media, and specifially the National Media.

While Stephen was giving his speech, the pool camera setup in the hall to get a crowd shot, with Stephen framed in the background. The national TV personalities wanted to get their bits done for the 6 and 11pm newscasts. It was a quick 15-20 second soundbite for each of the CBC, CTV and Radio Canada. Someone in the hallway took offense to the media, because they couldn't hear Stephen speaking. They started talking loudly so the media couldn't get their spots done. Next thing, some people started chanting, further preventing the media from doing their job. It became an obvious attempt to frustrate the media from doing their job. The reporter walked away, visibly upset. They we're ready to pack up and do their spot somewhere else, with no people around.

What do you think the story would have been like if that had happened?

Luckily, we we're able to step in and convince them to come back and try again. The people in the crowd we're calmed down and the spots got done.

As they we're leaving, I heard the one reporter say she wished she had a blog so she could report what happened and vent a little. I thought I would help her out.

Just something for people to consider when they are attending events. The media has paid $10,000 to $15,000 per reporter to be on the leader's tour. Most of them have multiple deadlines feeding numerous local and national outlets. They are under constant pressure and have a job to do. When you make that job difficult, you are not helping anyone and are potentially hurting the campaign. Campaigns are a team effort and everyone from the grassroots supporters to the top echelon has to always be thinking of the overall effort and not just personal considerations.

To the media that came back and tried again - Thank-you. Windsor is a friendly city, once you get to know us. Our bark is usually worse than our bite. Really.

More on the rally from Liberty is Good.