al-Hurra

(An outlying encampment of the media fortress across from the Xcel Center.)

Yesterday, I received a call from my employer at the RNC next week, al-Hurra. Who? That's what I asked when I learned two months ago that I would be working for them. al-Hurra is a (United States) government-run organization that broadcasts news and other programming on television and radio in the Middle East, much like Voice of America. (Not exactly what I had expected when I signed up.) The man who called me invited me to come down to the Xcel Center and tour their operation before the convention began.

So I went down, and (of course) he was out to lunch. But once he got back, he showed me around. al-Hurra, he explained, is meant to be a pro-American counter to Al-Jazeera, the Arabic news station. Al-Jazeera has a relatively large news staff at the conventions this year, and is trusted much more than al-Hurra (seen as a Western tool in the Middle East), but the folks over there still believe they can compete. What exactly I will be doing for them, I don't know--I don't speak Arabic. I suspect I'm going to be an errand boy. But I will be an errand boy on the floor of the convention!

While I'm on the topic of media, let me discuss the media zone, or perhaps small country, outside the Xcel Center. It occupies half a city block, a fenced-in bubble filled with busy-looking men striding around with their Blackberries to their ears. Most news outlets--from CNN down to al-Hurra--have a tent or a trailer in there. It's as though an occupying force has arrived. When you step through the gates, you are no longer in St. Paul. You are in the Media Cocoon. I'll be spending plenty of time there in the coming days.