Palm Beach County's Election Hangover

Stories and Photos by CHARLES McKENZIE & DOUG WHITE
Special to Poynter.org

AS FOX TV NEWS REPORTER Orlando Salinas prepared to go live in front of the Palm Beach County Courthouse, a handful of quiet protesters lined up behind him. He checked his earpiece, straightened his jacket, and looked up.

His first few words came out with little competition, but then something changed. The protestors saw a familiar image on the FOX monitor: themselves. In one nanosecond, people who had lived their whole lives in relative obscurity burst onto the national political scene.

The small quiet group suddenly exploded, sprouting layers of jockeying signs and erupting into a medley of chants: "Gore Got More." ... "Bush won twice."

Hearing the commotion, dozens of people -- old, young, black, white, Republicans, Democrats, and interested gawkers -- raced to fill the frame, knowing that the world was watching as election and party officials meticulously analyzed Palm Beach County ballots.

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A Journalism Reunion By CHARLES McKENZIE and DOUG WHITE Special to Poynter.org As younger journalists they pursued scoops, shelter and safety while covering wars across the globe. But this weekend, Palm Beach County was a world away from Nicaragua, Kosovo and Iraq. Instead of dodging bullets, the veterans found themselves sidestepping miniature donkeys and stroller-pushing protesters. As the lunacy unfolded outside the Palm Beach County Courthouse some old friends were reunited.

JUST AS QUICKLY AS THE CRUSH OF PEOPLE had begun, it was over. Before Salinas could remove his sports coat, the once-again-silent crowd had reconvened in front of another news crew.

While the ballot recount story is an unprecedented one, the chaos outside the South Florida courthouse last weekend had a certain familiarity for journalists. Many had covered the big stories, the ones with first names: Elian, O.J., Monica. They arrived in West Palm Beach well versed in the unrecorded science of spectacle.

Journalists knew where to go and how to compete. As a result, the scene appeared at times to be more of a high-speed waltz than a media frenzy.

Early in the story, news crews staked their claim on the sidewalks across from the courthouse. Crews used duct tape to box off three- to six-foot sections. They then branded the sidewalk with their station's call letters.

"Most crews abide by it," said freelance cameraman Tony Long. The tape is usually good for the entire story, so turf doesn't need to be reclaimed every day. "But if things really start shaking and you leave your square, people will pull up your tape and move in."

Even when inside of the courthouse, crews left tripods in the squares outside.

Meanwhile, print photographers wandered the periphery and occasionally ventured into the mass of protesters. Some scaled walls, and others took turns aboard the bases of light poles.

Associated Press photographer Alan Diaz, who is best-known for his photograph of the Elian Gonzalez raid, says he looks for crowd confrontation. That means he had to immerse himself in the center of the chaotic fray. "It's adrenaline," Diaz said. "I love to see how passionate they are. That's what democracy is all about."

Gabriel Tait, a photojournalist from the Detroit Free Press, said this particular story was difficult to tell visually. "There are only so many pictures of rallies and ballot counting to take," he said. "But I think we've done an admirable job journalistically." Broadcast reporters tried to do their best even when there was nothing new to report. Salinas found himself on air every half hour.

"I basically had to say, 'I really don't have anything new to tell you,'" he said. He tried to summarize the story for new viewers and review the most recent changes. To fill time, he often asks his camera crew to pull back and pan the crowd.

WHILE SUCH LIVE SHOTS STIR EMOTION in the crowd, several print photographers refused to shoot pictures of protesters who were playing up to the cameras.

"I don't think the feelings are manufactured, they are just heightened," said Deborah Sharp, USA Today's Florida correspondent.

Inside the ballot examination room, the scene was more subdued and cramped. A pool system was set up, and the media agreed that the Palm Beach Post should supply all the print journalists and photographers. This was because the Post was the hometown daily newspaper in the city and because its attorney had fought for access to the recount.

"They were pretty agreeable," said Lannis Waters, the Post photojournalist picked for Saturday's pool. He was also the pool photographer during the William Kennedy Smith rape trial, also held in West Palm Beach.

Eventually, voting officials allowed revolving pool journalists, so the Post created a sign-up sheet.

Because their work will be turned over to competitors, pool journalists are under the scrutiny of all their colleagues.

"It is added pressure," Waters said. "I was happy they let us rotate."

Amie Parnes, of The New York Times, said she was also feeling the intense pressure. The 23-year-old Miami bureau staffer worked 17-hour days feeding information back to Times' reporters Don Van Natta, Jr. and Rick Bragg.

"There is no down time," she said. "I'm working every minute, talking to more and more people. I've got to get it. Everything's dependent on me getting information."

For Jorge Bouza, a veteran sound technician, these types of scenes always require balancing ambition with camaraderie.

"We're very competitive, but we're chasing the same story in the same place," he said. "It's hard to get an exclusive. If I get one I'm not going to run in and tell everyone, but if your pen runs out of ink, I'm going to help you."

New York Post news columnist Steve Dunleavy agreed -- to a point. "There are personal friendships, but there is also high, high competition," he said.

The job is tough, the hours are long, but in the end, most of these journalists said they are glad to be documenting history.

As Long put it, "You hate it when you're there, but you hate it when you're not."