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Monday: Back, finally
posted at 2008-11-17 23:59 | Last modified 2008-12-01 18:24
Capitolbeat rocked
The 2008 Capitolbeat conference is over, and I’m thrilled to say it was apparently a big success. (I didn't get to see much - I was burning up shoe leather with the rest of our Raleigh conference committee, making sure everything/ everyone was where it/(s)he was supposed to be. But I have a USB copy of the presentations, and I can't wait to see them.)
We had around a hundred statehouse reporters from 26 states (including the Virgin Islands) plus Japan (!), as well as great presentations from an all-star line-up of national news names and local luminaries like Gov. and Mary Easley, Kay Hagan, Pat Stith, Ferrel Guillory, Bill Leuchtenburg, Hodding Carter, Ken Eudy, David Crabtree, Chris Roush, Chris Fitzsimon, and too many others to name. All the sessions were well-attended, none of our young reporter attendees got lost or arrested, the food was good, and everyone says they had a great time.
Conference chair Mark Binker (Greensboro) was elected VP. I was re-elected President. And UNC-TV’s Eszter Vajda earned a spot on the board. Big thanks to our local committee members Eszter, Jordan Schrader (Asheville) and James Romoser (Winston-Salem) for helping make the conference a success.
Best keynote ever?
At Capitolbeat, we’ve had a long tradition of keynoters who are huge industry names, but aren’t exactly fun or uplifting. I’m happy to report we broke the latter part of that tradition with this year’s keynoter, Pulitzer winning veteran N&O investigative reporter Pat Stith. He was as funny, charming, and smart as usual. You can find audio of his remarks here.
Stith retired on a buyout from McClatchy earlier this fall, a fact he noted at the beginning of his remarks. But I know I’m not the only one who noticed he talked about reporting in the present tense – a hard habit to break after 39 years, I guess. And he had what you might call a “tell” in poker terms: whenever he talked about something he loved, like breaking a story or getting into someone’s head, he’d put his hands out in front of him and flutter his fingers as if he were typing – a subconscious gesture that spoke volumes about his love for the trade.
Pat brought his wife, Donna, with him to Saturday's dinner. They’ve been together since they were 17, and almost fifty years later, she's still not tired of hearing him talk about his job. She was beaming the whole time he was on stage. She was also the subject of the night’s funniest moment - Stith’s description of assuming vacuuming duties after his retirement. Listen to the end of Part 2 of the Q&A here.
The Tavern's satellite bureau
Legislative uber-staffer Gerry Cohen kicked off the conference for us Thursday night at a reception in the rotunda of the old State Capitol. Cohen’s actual job is heading up the bill drafting division, but he’s even more highly regarded as the guy who knows more than anyone else about the history of NC politics. He recounted some of the more interesting facts about the old Capitol, like:
- It’s allegedly haunted – by Union soldiers, no less.
- The building was ridiculously expensive, costing the state more than three years’ budget when it was built in 1840.
- Lawmakers turned an upstairs office into a speakeasy during Prohibition.
- The third floor clerk’s offices were only accessible by spiral staircases so steep the clerks used chamberpots to avoid navigating them.
Cohen’s prepared remarks are here.
Elsewhere
- Word on the grapevine is that State Senator Ellie Kinnaird either just married or is about to marry to her beau, Kenan Prof Emeritus Dan Pollitt. Pics of the very cute couple with Barack Obama here. Congrats, Senator!
- The N&O’s Rob Christensen had a fantastic profile today of Obama’s NC director, Marc Farinella.
- Former State Sen Hugh Webster says his political enemies are to blame for the fact his own aunt helped the SBI indict him for swindling her. Look, I know things have gotten pretty partisan this year, but …seriously?
Comments? Drop me a line.
