When conservative grassroots organizations gather this week in Nashville under the banner of the National Tea Party Convention, parts of the proceedings, including the keynote by Sarah Palin, will be televised and streamed on the Internet.
Organizers said Tuesday that Fox News, CNN, Reuters TV and the Internet company PJTV would broadcast debate sessions and speeches of the three-day convention, as well as provide "special interviews of delegates and speakers," The New York Times reported. The broadcast schedule is to be posted on the event Web site.
Planners suggested the broadcasts would give access to activists who can't afford to attend and keep the event true to its grassroots values, according to the Times.
The convention has come under criticism for its $549 ticket price, with some complaining that Tea Party Nation founders Lou and Sherry Phillips were using the event to enrich themselves. Tea Party Nation is a for-profit, social networking site behind the convention.
Last week, Reps. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) backed out, citing uncertainty about where the money from the event would be going as their reason for declining to participate. They were scheduled to join Palin as speakers.
Some former volunteers for Tea Party Nation resigned in protest over the ticket prices, and accused the organization of trying to profit off the movement, the Times reported. A number of event sponsors also pulled out.
The convention, which runs Thursday through Saturday at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel, is sold out with a waiting list of 500 people, organizers said.
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/02/02/parts-of-tea-party-convention-to-be-televised/?icid=main|htmlws-main-n|dl2|link6|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.politicsdaily.com%2F2010%2F02%2F02%2Fparts-of-tea-party-convention-to-be-televised%2F
Organizers said Tuesday that Fox News, CNN, Reuters TV and the Internet company PJTV would broadcast debate sessions and speeches of the three-day convention, as well as provide "special interviews of delegates and speakers," The New York Times reported. The broadcast schedule is to be posted on the event Web site.
Planners suggested the broadcasts would give access to activists who can't afford to attend and keep the event true to its grassroots values, according to the Times.
The convention has come under criticism for its $549 ticket price, with some complaining that Tea Party Nation founders Lou and Sherry Phillips were using the event to enrich themselves. Tea Party Nation is a for-profit, social networking site behind the convention.
Last week, Reps. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) backed out, citing uncertainty about where the money from the event would be going as their reason for declining to participate. They were scheduled to join Palin as speakers.
Some former volunteers for Tea Party Nation resigned in protest over the ticket prices, and accused the organization of trying to profit off the movement, the Times reported. A number of event sponsors also pulled out.
The convention, which runs Thursday through Saturday at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel, is sold out with a waiting list of 500 people, organizers said.
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/02/02/parts-of-tea-party-convention-to-be-televised/?icid=main|htmlws-main-n|dl2|link6|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.politicsdaily.com%2F2010%2F02%2F02%2Fparts-of-tea-party-convention-to-be-televised%2F
