A Quick Note on Venue Selection

KANSAS CITY — It became immediately evident, as soon as Sen. John McCain took the stage here for a town hall meeting at Union Station — yes, at the train station — that the idea of covering this event in any sort of conventional manner is laughable. He is giving his stump speech in a cavernous room with absolutely the worst acoustics I have ever heard– think of a somewhat smaller version of Grand Central Station’s Main Concourse. Only about one in five words are intelligible in between the echoes. Looking down the row of tables at the press corps, each time the audience claps and cheers, reporters look at each other and mouth, "What did he say?" Perhaps the sound is better in the middle of the room (we are situated at one end, with no speakers facing us) — either that or the crowd is just enthusiastic.

I don’t know who had the idea to hold a political meeting at a train station, but it was a dud. It might work for television, because the networks have an audio feed, but the print reporters are grasping at straws here.

Rule #1: If you want media coverage of your event, make sure the press can understand what you’re saying.

Worst town hall ever.