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Virtual Convention Offers New Opportunities for Political Parties to Connect

Steve Redisch

   Political conventions have always been considered a four-day television
   commercial for political parties and their presidential candidates. The
   2020 Democratic National Convention is taking that to a new level with
   its virtual convention.

   Forced by the coronavirus pandemic to rethink how to stage a
   convention, Democrats changed what was once a slickly produced live
   event with politicians speaking from a podium in an arena filled with
   people. Instead, it appears they are bringing the convention to the
   people, using short videos to create an atmosphere of watching a social
   media feed.

   Vanessa Beasley, communications professor at Vanderbilt University,
   said eliminating the crowded arena created an aura of intimacy for
   viewers.

   "I think [Democrats] made some really strategic decisions about what it
   meant to go virtual and television as a particular medium, but also
   thinking about the way the rest of the media would pick up particular
   clips and sound bites to circulate on social media," Beasley said.

   On the opening night Monday, viewers couldn't help noticing the
   difference right from the start, with dozens of choir members singing
   the national anthem from their homes across the country on what
   appeared to be a giant Zoom call.

   And while some of the video was grainy and awkward and not the quality
   television networks might normally use, Beasley called it "authentic"
   because we are now used to seeing it on computers and smartphones.

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