Inside PBS Blog

The Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul hosted the Republican National Convention last week, proving that, like RMPBS, they could throw quite a political party. 

Twin Cities Public Television's (TPT) local public access program, Almanac: Access at the Capitol, is a weekly live broadcast with an accompanying website, and during the conventions, the show, and particularly the site, went into overdrive.  Almanac reporter Mary Lahammer and commentator David Gillette  provided in depth and behind-the-scenes coverage of the RNC that rivaled national coverage in both information and entertainment value.

While the Almanac's coverage during the lead-up to the conventions was comprehensive, and included  an archive full of video that has interviews with local lawmakers and snippets of life behind the Twin Cities' political scene, the real highlights came during the convention itself.

In particular, Gillette, in a unique twist on traditional reporting, provided daily recaps of his experience at the convention in his illustrated Convention Journal. 

The visual of his simple black and white drawings displayed on a clipboard, combined with his audio commentary, convey the frantic and invigorating experience of a first time convention attendee - from his run-in with a motorcade, to his journalism ' tips' to anyone not in the convention chaos and his encounters with, as he puts it "most every major figure in this race." 

Gillette demonstrated that sometimes using the simple tools of strong writing, well placed humor and innovative reporting style makes for the best kind of news stories. 

Does your local PBS station use innovative reporting techniques? How would you report from the conventions? 

Stay Engaged. Get our blog by email.