It was 1988 and the Democratic National Convention was being held in Atlanta.
And here’s a sure bet: Where there are conventions, there are protests. And where there are protesters, there are media. We love protesters. Maybe too much.
I was reminded of what happened at the Atlanta convention when a few protesters showed up here. The Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church came to town. These folks have gained some fame by protesting against homosexuals at the funeral services of fallen service members.
ooo
So what’s up with the media and protesters? The media are drawn to protests sort of like bears are drawn to honey. Why that is could be complicated, but for me it’s all about it simply being different than the typical stuff we cover on a daily basis. Different is good, both for us and for readers.
To be fair, many protesters deserve coverage. They are often a group that has no voice. With coverage, we’re able to give them a voice.
But we do need to be careful. Take that Atlanta convention, for example.
Bob Morris — a buddy I went to school with at the University of Florida — was a big-time columnist for the Orlando Sentinel. He and Dave Barry (then a Miami Herald columnist) were at the convention to provide a little color. They went looking for the offbeat stuff and — you guessed it — were drawn to the protesters. (See?)
But they added a little twist.
They decided to become protesters.
I caught up with Bob by phone in St. Lucia late this week to ask him about it.
“We did it to show that the media would cover any kind of protest.”
So what, exactly, did they do?
They put boxes on their heads. And they called themselves People with Boxes on Their Heads.
“Within two minutes, we were being interviewed. CNN, AP, plenty of TV and papers.
“Reporters would ask what we were protesting and we’d tell ’em we were just people with boxes on our heads,” Bob said.
I guess that was plenty for us media types. They made news! It was funny but telling.
Did they get any grief, I asked?
“The only heat we caught was from the dozens of reporters we duped,” he said.
Lesson learned.
Ever since then, I’ve been cautious of how newspapers cover protests. I’m always suggesting that simply because we have a great photo or someone ranting doesn’t mean it automatically gets on the front page.
But there are no rules.
In the case of the Westboro Baptist Church, the community response to the protest is what made it front-page news. It showed how our community reacts to stuff like this.
But should the community just let them be? Not give them what they’re looking for, which is publicity?
I wonder if People with Boxes on Their Heads would have an answer.
Lou Brancaccio is The Columbian’s editor. Reach him at 360-735-4505 or lou.brancaccio@columbian.com.
