Election 2004: summer conventions preview: NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw talks to JS Student Reporters about the conventions.

This July, the hottest ticket in Boston, Massachusetts, won't be for a Red Sox game. And when crowds line up outside New York City's Madison Square Garden in late August, they won't be waiting to see a rock concert or a boxing match. Much of the excitement in both cities this summer will surround the Democratic and Republican national conventions.

The Democrats will meet in Boston from July 26 to July 29. Thousands of party delegates (representatives) from across the country will gather to officially nominate Senator John F. Kerry for President. The Republicans will convene in New York City from August 30 to September 2 to declare President George W. Bush their nominee.

The conventions used to be real nail-biters, with candidates battling to win their party's nomination for President. But today, that choice is made in primary elections and caucuses, long before the conventions begin.

But the gatherings still matter. They provide a chance for party members to rally around their presidential and vice-presidential candidates. Delegates also meet to decide the party's platform--a statement of its goals and principles in the presidential campaign.

Tom Brokaw, the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News With Tom Brokaw, has reported on every national convention since 1968. JS Student Reporters recently interviewed Brokaw about his experiences.

Junior Scholastic: What was it like to cover the conventions when you were starting out as a political reporter?

Tom Brokaw: Well, I always wanted to be down on the floor, finding out what was going on from delegation to delegation. It was hard physical work. You had to know where all the delegates were, which states were really important. But it was so exciting at the end of the night, you just felt exhilaration [great excitement]. One of the changes I made is that I put on running shoes to be down on the floor. Other people wore their dress shoes, and I put on my running shoes so I could get from one part of the floor to the other.

JS: How have you changed as a reporter since the 1960s?

TB: I now get to sit up in a big booth, and I don't have to wear my running shoes anymore.

JS: What is the main purpose of the conventions?

TB: Originally, the main purpose was to determine whom each party would nominate as its presidential and vice-presidential candidates. Now, the purpose is to try to get people together before they begin the general-election campaign. It's like a pep rally where they can get their spirits up, and tell the nation why they are the superior party.

We [in the media] have to be careful that they don't just use us for their own purposes. We have to examine what they're saying, analyze the speeches and the platform, and talk to the people on the floor about the differences that may exist within the party.

JS: What is the biggest difference between the Democratic and Republican conventions?

TB: The Democrats are more likely to have squabbles during the convention than the Republicans are. And at the Republican convention there's less diversity. It's generally a larger white audience than it is at a Democratic convention because the Democrats attract more people of different ethnic backgrounds than the Republicans do.

JS: Which convention was the most exciting for you to cover?

TB: 1968, Chicago. There were protests in the street about the Vietnam War, the convention's outcome was uncertain, and it was an important time in America. We didn't know which way America was going in 1968. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had been killed that year, Senator Robert Kennedy had just been killed, and there was a terrible war in Vietnam. The country was deeply divided about many of these issues, and you had the feeling that you were in someplace extremely important.

JS: What is your advice to kids who want to be reporters?

TB: I think they have to do two things. One, learn to write so they can express themselves clearly. The next thing that they have to do is get a really broad understanding of how our country works--the politics, the economy, the educational system, the culture, and also how we fit into the rest of the world. JS

Your Turn

Think About IT Would you want to be a news reporter? Explain your answer.

OBJECTIVES

Students should understand

* Democratic and Republican party delegates will gather at national conventions this summer to officially nominate their presidential and vice-presidential candidates.

TEACHING STRATEGY

Ask students: "What political issues should be addressed at the conventions, and why?"

BACKGROUND

Few modern conventions have had the impact of the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Observers believed the Chicago police acted with excessive force to subdue 10,000 antiwar demonstrators gathered there. Others blamed the protesters for provoking the violence. Television coverage of the "police riots" shocked the nation. Those negative images contributed to Democrat Hubert Humphrey losing the November election to the Republican candidate, Richard M. Nixon.

THINKING SKILLS

CAUSE AND EFFECT: How have primary elections and caucuses decreased the suspense once associated with the national conventions? (Because voters elect delegates pledged to specific candidates during the primary and caucus season, the party's nominees are usually decided by the time of the summer conventions.)

MAKING COMPARISONS: According to Tom Brokaw, how do today's national conventions compare with prior ones? (Today's conventions are more like pep rallies, gatherings meant to promote unity for the party's nominees and platform. Prior conventions were more dramatic because of the hard-fought nomination battles.)

ACTIVITY

AT THE CONVENTION: Instruct students to imagine they are news reporters at the Democratic or Republican national convention. Student reporters should present a live, on-the-spot update about the event.