Media Circus Comes to Des Moines, Iowa

Jan. 2, 2008 — -- With the Iowa caucuses a little more than 36 hours away, the state's capital, Des Moines, is home to an international media feeding frenzy.

Attracted by celebrity candidates, an open contest in both political parties for the first time in decades and an unpredictable finish, media from across the country and around the world have flooded into Iowa.

"We've credentialed over 2,500 media at this point," said Carrie Giddins, communications director of the Iowa Democratic Party. That's more than twice the 1,200 journalists credentialed for the Democratic caucuses in 2004, and more than the 2,000 they expected this year.

An unprecedented number of journalists continue to pour into the city.

"We never expected to get this many media people," said Mary Tiffany, communications director of the Republican Party of Iowa. "And people are still credentialing … people we never expected are just walking in."

There are so many journalists in Des Moines, officials with the city's airport are expecting a traffic jam the day after the caucuses.

'Place is Packed'

"An estimated 2,000 rental cars will be returned those days and approximately 50 percent more people will be departing from the airport than on a typical day," airport officials said in a statement. "Above all, be patient," they said.

Television satellite trucks line downtown streets, and media people and campaign operatives have taken over Des Moines' best hotels and restaurants.

"The place is packed," said Damon Murphy, a bartender at 801 Steak and Chophouse, a classic Iowa steakhouse in downtown Des Moines. "Everybody but three people here are media."

Frigid, below-freezing temperatures have greeted the throng.

"I left 60 degree weather in Florida to come here to 6-degree weather!" said former Rep. Joe Scarborough, R-Fla., who is hosting his "Morning Cup of Joe" television show at Java Joe's Coffeehouse, a popular coffee shop here.

Party officials say so many foreign journalists have flooded into the city that they can't keep count.

Journalists from Australia, Japan, Canada, Holland, Croatia and the Czech Republic have flown in to cover the Iowa caucuses.

"The whole of BBC International is interested in this story," said Andrew Steele, BBC Washington bureau chief.

The BBC has brought 30 people to Iowa to cover the caucuses.

'Starting Gun'

"This is the starting gun to the whole election campaign," he said. "For the first time in decades there is an open contest on both sides, and there are really big question marks about who the nominees will ultimately be."

The caucuses have also attracted bloggers, student journalists and independent documentary filmmakers.

Filmmakers Sarah Scully and Will Rabbe are blogging, doing on-air updates and creating a 30-minute documentary about the Iowa caucuses for the Independent Film Channel.

"We're deconstructing the process for the independent thinker," said Scully. "This is coverage for the rest of us, the independent voters, the disinterested voters."

At the Des Moines convention center, where caucus results will roll in and be put up on three big-screen projectors, journalists have set up temporary on-air studios and massive work spaces.

Google is sponsoring the best and funkiest media lounge in the convention center, mimicking the technology company's California headquarters with dimmed lighting, modern all-white pod chairs and leather couches.

Journalists are invited to munch on trail mix, fresh fruits, Vitamin Water and veggie chips and watch a series of YouTube videos of Iowans talking about their caucus experience.

"We gave real Iowans digital cameras to record their experience because sometimes their voices get lost," said Ginny Hunt of Google's public relations and political outreach department.

"We're not a content provider so we're trying to figure out how do we use our tools to increase access to relevant information for voters."

City officials say the media and party people who have flooded the greater Des Moines area since the election campaign began have brought an estimated $25 million in economic impact to the city.

'Economic Impact'

And the city has rolled out the welcome mat, stuffing more than 2,000 gift bags for journalists with everything from much-needed Chapstick to maps of the city's sky walks.

"We're doing everything we can to provide them with information on the city so even if they can't experience the city full while they're covering the caucuses, they might come back or even move here someday," said Tiffany Tauscheck of the Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Center.

With their first-in-the-nation status originally threatened by other states who wanted a bigger stake and the media attention to go with it, the Iowa Democratic Party and the Republican Party of Iowa decided to work together to get journalists and party officials results as they come in from Iowa's 99 counties and more than 3,700 precincts Thursday night.

"This is where the two of us have been working together to make sure on caucus night the world can make sure they can see what happens on both sides of the aisle," Giddins said.

"It's more important for Iowa's first-in-the-nation status to make sure on caucus night the world can see what happens on both sides of the aisle," Tauscheck said.