[The 90’s election specials raw : Bush at Polish National Alliance #1]

Raw tape for The 90 ’s election specials. News crews set up at the Polish National Alliance, preparing for the arrival of President George H.W. Bush.

00:00Copy video clip URL Black.

00:01Copy video clip URL No audio. B-roll of street sweeper.

00:20Copy video clip URL Audio turns on. A tow truck operator says he is moving cars for the “Presidential thing” happening tonight. He says he’s been working the street for an hour and will be here another 34 minutes. When asked what he thinks about the President coming to visit, the man says it doesn’t matter to him. “I put in my eight.” When asked what he thinks of the upcoming election, the man responds, “They’re all phonies.” He thinks the country should discontinue all foreign aid noting that he keeps paying his taxes and the country gives the money away. He adds that he always votes. “I vote for the lesser of two evils.”

02:56Copy video clip URL B-roll of the man driving away in his tow truck.

03:39Copy video clip URL B-roll of news trucks outside the Polish National Alliance. The crew, lead by a female reporter, Diane, and videographer Steve Golden, chit chat with some of the news crews.  Secret Service are going through all the video gear. They notes that news crews can enter the building at 2pm when the Secret Service surveillance is finished.

04:54Copy video clip URL Channel 2 audio turns on. The video crews chit chats friendly. Golden says he is shooting for The 90s PBS TV show.

06:20Copy video clip URL A man from the PR firm handling the event checks the video crews IDs. He checks credentials for all of the video crews. Continued b-roll of all the news crews checking in with security.

12:30Copy video clip URL B-roll of crews setting up the gear, podium, and stage in a small room. A sign reads: Polish National Alliance Welcomes President George Bush. B-roll of the press setting up at the back of the room.

14:25Copy video clip URL Audio improves. Crews and technicians continue setting up. A man sets up press phones. He says it took a few days to set up more than a dozen lines.

16:02Copy video clip URL Interview with a guy setting up the stage lights, making sure the President will be evenly lit for all the cameras. He says he works for an outside contractor in Chicago. I do this often, he says. We’ve worked four hours last night and again today. The press will be here 45-minutes and then go to the Hyatt downtown where the President will also be appearing. “I lit that, too.”

17:29Copy video clip URL Interview with Polish journalists. The President’s speech will be a major speech about foreign policy and about Poland specifically. There’s a big Polish population in Chicago, over one million. I think Bush has the support of the Polish people. The Polish man shows the videographer his camera. B-roll of technicians setting up closed circuit remotes so people in an adjoining building can see and hear the speech. We set it up in an hour.

22:54Copy video clip URL B-roll of the press, journalists. Interview with Richard Wood. They share the line up of the speech. Today is a stop on President Bush’s  campaign. The Polish community in Chicago is big. It’s an important community for the President. There are a lot of logistics. The White House team comes in days before to spec the place, look it over. The biggest issue is making sure the people who need to hear the message are here, or the journalists who can reach t hem are here, in this case the Polish community, so that the President’s message can be heard.

26:51Copy video clip URL B-roll of the set up. PR people converse, camera operators set up their gear. Interview with news photographer Frank Accardie who says he’s shot a lot of this campaign in recent days.

33:14Copy video clip URL Camera rolls without the operator knowing it.

33:38Copy video clip URL Continued b-roll of the set up. A PR person says this event will be covered live. Adam Augustinski, an attorney for an insurance agency, is handing out handheld Polish flags. He says Bush has a long friendship with the Polish National Alliance president. We found out last week that this event was happening. There has been a long standing offer for Bush to visit.

39:41Copy video clip URL Continued b-roll of the set up. People mill about. Several Polish attendees in folk costume prepare to play music, sing, or dance. Attendees mingle.

40:16Copy video clip URL Interview with a member of the Polish National Alliance and an officer of the PNA. They say this is an important event because the Polish-American vote is important. Revitalization in ethnic issues are in direct relation to the fall of the Berlin wall. A man notes the band is playing authentic Polish folk music.

43:31Copy video clip URL Interview with an attendee who says Bush is behind in the race, but coming back. Right now it’s a little tough.

44:35Copy video clip URL B-roll of the band playing.

44:44Copy video clip URL Diane talks with an official about where local media sets up. The official is trying to move Diane and her crew, but she resists. Finally, she moves.

46:28Copy video clip URL The crew chats with audio technicians, Chris Fuller and Richard Weinstein from CSPAN. They say this event is not tough to work. Everything is controlled and orderly. They chit chat about their work covering the Presidential campaign. “We’ve marched in a parade, gone to a couple schools, we were nearly trampled by horses. The biggest difference between this event and events other politicians attend is that the President has special entry and exit paths mapped out so he is not overwhelmed by journalists. We try to get as much access as we can. We will show where the press is, where the public is, and where the President is to give an accurate impression of what’s going on. Yesterday’s parade was tough because we had to go against horses. It’s a blast! The whole nation’s looking at you and you’re in charge of getting the news to them.”

51:20Copy video clip URL Interview with a photographer who has been here seven times. The last event was when the Pope visited. He says this is a dog-and-pony show. In 1968, Nixon was here and only four or five people showed. Now, he adds, two-hundred people show. There are more news outlets and bigger crews.

55:14Copy video clip URL END