The Battleground State Tours - Election 2004THE BATTLEGROUND STATES
Election 2004
The 2004 Presidential Election will be decided in a series of key States. These are States either where the difference in the votes cast for each of the two major presidential candidates in 2000 was less than one percent, or where the electoral contest is expected for other reasons to be very close. These States, where the two major candidates and their campaigns are spending much time and resources, are known as “Swing States” or “Battleground States.” The Foreign Press Centers will offer tours to several of these States to assist journalists in developing their coverage of the US elections.
Due to budget and staffing constraints, the Foreign Press Centers are unable to provide individualized programs for journalists. You are, however, welcome to join any of the Battleground programs outlined in this memo.
GENERAL GUIDELINES
1. All of the Foreign Press Center Tours are designed for self-starting journalists. Briefings will be planned and will generally be held at various sites in cities and towns at a central location in or near the tour’s “headquarters” hotel. The Foreign Press Center staff will also make available a list of sources for suggested independent interviews in each location.
2. There will be very limited transportation provided, so most journalists should plan to rent cars; journalists often “carpool” so if you do not drive you can most likely find a ride with another journalist or FPC staff members.
3. The FPC has designed each State tour to deal with overarching issues that apply broadly to other States as well, e.g. what you learn about outsourcing in Ohio or Michigan will carry over to other industrial states or states strongly affected by a decline in employment, what you learn about Hispanic voting patterns in Florida or Arizona will roughly apply across the US, what you learn about the rural and farm vote in Iowa or Wisconsin will be useful across America’s Breadbasket. From each “Headquarters” location you should be able to drive easily to rural areas and small towns to interview a cross-section of American voters.
4. These tours are self-funded.
5. Once you have contacted the Program Officer responsible for a given tour, they will provide you with further details on exact cities, dates, and hotels within the tour via e-mail.
6. In each city, the Foreign Press Center will select a “Headquarters” hotel and request a special rate that can be passed on to journalists. You are responsible for making and guaranteeing your own reservation, typically by credit card. You may choose a different hotel, but we recommend that you try to book a hotel close to the Headquarters hotel so that you may benefit from working with your colleagues. We have not yet selected all hotels. Some hotels are therefore designated as TBD.
7. You will notice that some dates overlap. This provides for arrival in a city the night before a program begins. It also assumes that not all journalists will participate in all tours. You may selectively participate in a part of a tour.
8. The dates for these tours have been planned to coincide with the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Debates. If you would like to attend these Debates and have not yet applied for credentials, you should do so immediately. The deadline for applying for credentials is September 24. For general information on the Debates, go to the website of the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) at www.debates.org <http://www.debates.org>.
Application: To apply for a media credential, go directly to
<http://www.ewebreg.com/cpd/main/main.aspx>. The request for "name on credential" refers to what the journalist wants on their new CPD document, not what is on any already-existing document. When filling out the application, if your media organization is not listed, please go to “other” in the middle of the organization list (between organizations beginning with “N” and those beginning with “P”) and then type in your media organization in the box that appears. Journalists are should provide j-peg photos, but if they don't have them the CPD will have a camera on site.
The CPD expects to be able to approve all legitimate journalists who follow the application process for credentials. Applicants will be notified by email if they have been approved. Those notifications should start going out soon.
Credentials will be distributed on-site, with shuttle buses picking up journalists at designated points and delivering them to the Media Filing Center within the secure area.
Debate Coverage: Even with CPD credentials, media will not have access to the debate hall itself but to the media filing center. Journalists will also need credentials from their employer demonstrating they are legitimate journalists. In addition to the Media Filing Center, there will be “Spin Alley,” an interview-rich area within the secure area, either part of or attached to the filing center. Spin Alley will compromise 15-30 spaces of about 10' x 7' each for interviews.
TV Feed: TV pool feed will be available to all broadcasters.
Still Photographer Access: A few lucky photographers will be allowed into the debate hall itself. Those spots will be allocated by lottery. Requests and inquiries should be submitted through the CPD Media Liaison, Cheryl Stronczer at 202-872-1020.
Special Needs: Requests for telephones, etc., should be made through Ms. Stronczer. Prices are set by the universities hosting the events.
9. At the conclusion of this memo there is a special section of recommendations for journalists traveling from abroad to join any of these tours.
10. Applying for Participation in Tours:
SEND YOUR REPLY DIRECTLY TO THE PROGRAM OFFICER LISTED UNDER EACH TOUR.
In all cases, when you sign up for a tour, you MUST include the following information:
--WHICH TOUR YOU WISH TO JOIN
--Full name
--Media outlet and country or region your media outlet serves
--Your office or daytime phone number, your home phone number, cell phone number (the one you will use on the tour)
--U.S. Social Security Number or passport number and country of issue
--Date of birth.
We need this information to assist you on the tour. Should either Presidential Campaign be in the area of an FPC tour other than for the Debates, we will try to get Press Credentials and may need this information for the Secret Service.
SEND YOUR REPLY DIRECTLY TO THE PROGRAM OFFICER LISTED UNDER EACH TOUR.
Please note that a tour will require a minimum of 15 journalists to be viable. If that number has not been reached by the deadline for application date, journalists will be advised of the tour’s cancellation within 48 hours. If the minimum number has been reached earlier, journalists will receive immediate confirmation via return e-mail.
11. For more information on Elections 2004 in general, contact Margaret Holwill, Program Officer for US Politics and Congress, Washington Foreign Press Center, 202-504-6321 or holwillm@state.gov <mailto:holwillm@state.gov>.
BATTLEGROUND STATE TOURS
September 15 - November 3, 2004
(Numbers in Parentheses indicate electoral votes)
September 16-21, 2004
America’s Heartland: Iowa (7), Minnesota (10) and Wisconsin (10)
Deadline for application: September 3, 2004
Together these States equal the electoral vote count of the State of Florida and exceed those of Ohio and Pennsylvania, the three big prizes this year. Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin can go either way, and the combination of all three could conceivably put the winner over the top in the Electoral College. Each has substantial farmland, large university populations, unions and manufacturing.
September 16-17, 2004 Hotel Fort des Moines Des Moines, Iowa
September 17-19, 2004 Hotel TBD Minneapolis, Minnesota
September 20-21, 2004 Hotel TBD Milwaukee, Wisconsin
These cities are approximately one hour apart by air; they are about 400 miles apart if you choose to drive. You should plan on arriving in Des Moines by the evening of September 15.
Contact: Margaret Holwill, Telephone 202-504-6321, e-mail holwillm@state.gov
September 27 - October 2, 2004
Two Floridas: Florida (27)
Deadline for application: September 10, 2004
The State that threw the 2000 Presidential race into heart-stopping turmoil promises to be another battle royal. The race is a tie at this point. The FPC tour will highlight the differences between the northern section of Florida, with a visit to the State Capital of Tallahassee, and the southern section of Florida, with a visit to the Miami area. We will stay in Coral Gables, the site of the first Presidential Debate on September 30. Northern Florida is more aligned with the “old South” while the Miami-Dade-Broward County, area of South Florida and “hanging chad” fame, is the home of Hispanic voters and many who have moved from northern states.
September 26 - 28, 2004 Doubletree Hotel Tallahassee, Florida
September 29 - October 2, 2004 Colonnade Hotel Coral Gables, Florida
The distance between Tallahassee and Miami is 500 miles. Although it is interstate Highway, the driving may be difficult due to the damage in the central part of the State caused by Hurricane Charley. It is suggested that you fly if you plan to cover the Debate.
Contact: Margaret Holwill, Telephone 202-504-6321, e-mail holwillm@state.gov
October 4 - 6, 2004
The Big Prize: Ohio (20)
Deadline for application: September 10, 2004
All eyes are focused on Ohio this year. Both candidates are spending an enormous amount of time campaigning in this State and no Republican has won the White House without it. Ohio has been hard hit by unemployment and the current solid recovery has been slow to create new jobs to replace those lost in manufacturing. The southeast corner of the State has heavy coal mining interests which raise issues for the two campaigns. The FPC tour will be in Cleveland for the Vice-Presidential Debate on October 5.
Dates TBD Hotel TBD Cities TBD
Contact: JoDell Shields, tel. 212-317-8334, email shieldsjd@state.gov
October 5-10, 2004
The Show-Me State: Missouri (11)
Deadline for application: September 13, 2004
The second Presidential Debate on October 8 in St. Louis gives us an opportunity for a Road Trip across the great state of Missouri. We willl arrive in St. Louis on October 7 after an adventure hunting for undecided voters in the Show-Me state starting in Kansas City, Missouri, on October 5. We will watch the Vice-Presidential Debate with local voters.
As we travel, we will stop at Harry Truman's home in Independence and at Westminster College where Winston Churchill gave his "Sinews of Peace" speech in which he first used the term "iron curtain." A visit to the State Capitol Building on the banks of the Missouri River in Jefferson City will afford a chance to see a bit of the center of this part of America's heartland. We will stop often to meet Missouri citizens and take the pulse of America. The road trip will end in St. Louis on October 7 so that journalists may prepare for the Debate on October 8. Briefings and city tours will be planned for the next days in St. Louis, the Gateway to the American West. The tour officially ends on October 10.
The distance between the two cities is approximately 250 miles on Interstate 70. You will have adequate time to stop for interviews. The Capital of Jefferson City is on the banks of the Missouri River, an easy 30 miles off the Interstate.
Contact: Margaret Holwill, Telephone 202-504-6321, e-mail holwillm@state.gov
October 18 - 23, 2004
From the Main Line to the Coal Mine: Pennsylvania (21) and West Virginia (5)
Deadline for application: September 24, 2004
Pennsylvania has been described as Philadelphia and Pittsburg with Alabama in between. The big cities are cosmopolitan and urbane; they tend to vote Democratic. In 2000, the normally Republican suburbs voted for the Democratic presidential candidate; this year the Republicans hope to win them back. Unemployment has hit hard in Pennsylvania and jobs have been slow to return despite good economic numbers overall. Between the two major cities is rolling country and some beautiful mountains. Pittsburg, a former center of steel manufacturing, is home to Teresa Heinz Kerry; her Foundation has contributed to the revitalization of a once decaying urban center.
The tour will end in the smallest of the Battleground States - West Virginia - where coal mining is a major industry and where two important issues -- environmental and employment concerns -- vie for attention.
October 18 - 19, 2004 Hotel TBD Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
October 20, 2004 Hotel TBD Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
October 21-22, 2004 Hotel TBD Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
October 23, 2004 Hotel TBD TBD, West Virginia
Contact: Dale Prince, Telephone 202-504-6320, email princed@state.gov
THE MICHIGAN TOUR HAS BEEN CANCELLED
October 25-29, 2004
A Microcosm of America: Michigan (17)
November 2, 2004
Election Day Evening
Both the Washington and the New York Foreign Press Centers will hold Election Watch Parties at their Offices with experts on hand to help you with your coverage of the results.
THE FOLLOWING ARE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR JOURNALISTS TRAVELING TO THE UNITED STATES TO COVER THE CAMPAIGNS AND ELECTIONS. THEY ARE GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR ALL JOURNALISTS VISITING THE US AT ANY TIME ON WORKING TOURS.
1. Notify the Public Affairs Officer at the United States Embassy or Consulate that you are going even if you have traveled to the US many times before. The Embassy may be able to offer assistance by simply letting you know what might be available during your stay in the US.
2. Obtain an “I” visa. Border controls have been tightened and it is important that you take no chances at being stopped at a port of entry. Remember to allow enough time for the required paperwork.
3. Carry a letter from your media outlet with you stating that you are representing them as their correspondent. The letter should be an original - not a fax or photocopy - in English, on company letterhead. You should have more than one copy.
4. Have business cards with your name, media outlet and contact information. Remember to keep a few in your pocket so that you can get to them quickly.
5. Bring any official press pass or passes that you have especially ones with your photo. Press passes that you can hang around your neck are ideal: In crowded press situation, it is easily visible to those controlling access.
6. A cell phone with a US phone number is highly recommended. Many journalists visiting from abroad have reported that US sources do not return calls to international numbers. Often they cannot because their phones or cell phones do not have international service. You can rent a prepaid cell phone at a moderate cost in the US to use solely for receiving calls, continuing to use your other phone for all other purposes.
If you have specific questions about traveling to the United States, please contact the Public Affairs Officer at the American Embassy or Consulate.
| 
