Throwback to Convention Coverage

Cleveland, do you remember me?

As I watch with a passing interest the comings and goings at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland I am reminded of my reporting experiences at a similar convention.

It was 1976 when the republicans met in Kansas City to nominate President Gerald Ford for an elected term as POTUS.

The New Mexico delegation wasn’t even staying in Missouri, we were housed in Kansas City, Kansas.

My job with KOAT was to send back reports on the happenings of the New Mexico delegation.  The biggest news was that Pete Domenici, who had been a United States Senator for only 4 years was being considered for the VP spot.   It didn’t happen.

The connection to Cleveland was through a former associate in radio.  I was hired to cover the Ohio delegation for a Cleveland radio station.  To do so, I had to actually find the Ohio delegation – and then go there and act like I knew what they were doing.   To the listener back home in Cleveland, what did they know?

That Republican National Convention was one of 3 that I attended.

1972 saw a TV news assignment in Miami.  Most memorable?  Walking through the waves of tear gas that was lobbed by cops and demonstrators who were reacting to Richard Nixon’s repeat nomination.

This was a time in local TV when there were no satellite trucks, hookups for going live, etc.  I covered the delegation with a 16mm film camera, then took the raw film to Miami International and shipped it “Counter-to-Counter” on TWA – hoping that it would arrive and still be somewhat relevant.   Of course, the folks back home wanted to see the locals on the TV news – so time and relevance didn’t make that much difference.

Oh, and something else was memorable from that convention.   Here’s a clip by Jerry Crawford from the Albuquerque Journal, August 22, 1972 quoting the delegation chair, Manuel Lujan, Jr.

The final tally was Richard Nixon, 1347.  Congressman Pete McCloskey 1.

Then in 1980 the republicans met in Detroit.   The city was crumbling (not as bad as now).  

The New Mexico delegation was situated in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.  

Most memorable from that trip, seeing Ronald Reagan attend a Polish festival.

I think the only New Mexico reporter at this year’s convention is the Washington reporter for the Albuquerque Journal.  The TV stations didn’t send anybody – and the 2^nd newspaper doesn’t exist.

C’est la vie!