Uncategorized

Video: the perks of the press in Denver

I hear they have great swag bags at the Oscars. At political conventions, not so much. Did the organizers who pulled these together for all 15,000 reporters here really think: “Hmm… let’s give them some free junk and they’ll write nicer stories about us.” Because if that’s the goal, straight up cash might be more efficient…

The best media bag I ever received was when Japan hosted the 2000 G-8 Summit in Okinawa. The gift bag included futuristic mini-cell phones for foreign reporters to use in Japan, digital voice recorders before most of us had heard of them (too bad the instructions were in Japanese), and best of all, a huge bottle of Sake.. I’m pretty sure I’ve never written a mean word about Japan.

In an effort to learn to make web videos, here is a tour of the black canvas media swag bags — proudly emblazoned with the Coca-Cola and AT&T logos — that we received this morning when picking up our credentials… Disclaimer: Do not watch this if you are offended by frivolous use of time and bandwidth.

[wpvideo S6aoBhVb]

PS — Security guards at the entrance to the Pepsi Center took away all my Joint Juice.

Looking for more?

Get the Best of Maclean's sent straight to your inbox. Sign up for news, commentary and analysis.
  • By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.