A/V: Clinton/Kaine Coach Cavalcade Concludes in Columbus

Democratic running mates Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine wave to supporters at the end of their bus tour rally at the Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center in Columbus, Ohio on July 31.

On July 31, Ohio's capital city played host to the conclusion of the Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine post-convention three-day bus tour swing through the nation's Rust Belt. Starting in the Philadelphia suburbs on July 29th, the nominees made several stops in central and western Pennsylvania before crossing over into the "Buckeye State" late on the evening of the 30th for a rally in Youngstown. After an impromptu stop at a Cleveland-area church and another at Ashland's Grandpa's Cheesebarn for a quick food break, their two buses rolled into the Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center to an estimated crowd of over 5,000 enthusiastic spectators who waited nearly two hours beyond the scheduled start time.

A/V: Clinton Castigates Competitor's Corporate Credentials

Democratic presumptive presidential nominee Hillary Clinton delivers an economic speech that savaged her Republican opponent's business record on Tuesday at the Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center in Columbus, Ohio.

In a national display to show just how important the "Buckeye State" is for the Democratic Party keeping control of the White House for the next four years, its capital served as their presumptive presidential nominee's venue to stake her claim for being a better steward of the nation's economy than her expected Republican rival come the fall. Employing a delivery style that featured both snark and sobriety, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton provided a sharp lambasting of the business resume of her general election challenger, New York businessman Donald Trump, during an address given Tuesday afternoon at Columbus' Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Center.

A/V: Buckeyes Feel the "Bern" at Sanders' Columbus Rally

Vermont senator Bernie Sanders addresses enthusiastic attendees at his rally at the Ohio State University's Schottenstein Center on Sunday evening in Columbus, Ohio.

Just two days before a potentially close and contentious Ohio primary election, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders held an enthusiastic rally in Columbus on Sunday evening to capitalize on the momentum gained in last week's surprise victory in neighboring Michigan. Already in the state's capital for two other events later in the evening, his campaign hosted this gathering for over 7,000 supporters at the Ohio State University's Schottenstein Center to advocate his own political positions as well as contrast them against those held by the Republican presidential candidates and his own party's primary opponent, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

A/V: Ohio Governor Throws Hat into Very Crowded GOP Presidential Ring

Ohio governor John Kasich addresses the crowd attending his "special announcement" event at the Ohio Union building on the campus of the Ohio State University in Columbus last Tuesday morning.

In a 45-minute speech last Tuesday teasingly advertised as a "special announcement", Ohio governor John Kasich became the latest candidate to announce their bid for the Republican nomination for president in the upcoming 2016 cycle. Ending all suspense for the gathering's reason near the 18-minute mark, he said, "I am here to ask you for your prayers, for your support, for your efforts because I have decided to run for president of the United States." He made this declaration from the atrium of the Ohio Union on the campus of the Ohio State University, his collegiate alma mater and the location where he first expressed his desires for pursuing a political future.

Soap Box: Turn Out the Lights, This Race is Over

An open letter to Ohio Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ed FitzGerald:

Ed FitzGerald (center) meets with supporters at a Dayton campaign rally this past January.

Dear Mr. FitzGerald Ed,

Let me try to put this as delicately as I can--what in the wide, wide world of sports were you thinking? How could a former FBI agent believe that in the current age of bulk data storage and instantaneous access to public records that those potentially embarrassing issues from your past would not become known? And you thought that this would simply be ignored in a political climate where style—and its associated “political games”—trumps substance? In the hands of a wily opposition research operation, rather innocuous events could be spun so far out of proportion so quickly that even the most firmly established, textbook-perfect political campaigns would be vulnerable to such shenanigans (and as we have seen since you announced your desire to be Ohio's next governor, yours does not fall into that category).

I Probably Should've Skipped This One

An advertisement for Mrs. Clinton's book signing event in last Sunday's Dayton Daily News.

Over the years (has it really been that long?), I have shared my adventures and milestones in exploring and practicing journalism in my local area and at a few places away from home via this blog. During that time, I have had the opportunity of covering events involving politicians, celebrities and national heroes with 2012 being my "banner year" due to Ohio's importance during the recent presidential election cycle and the 70th anniversary of the Doolittle Raiders heroic exploits during World War II. I've had some remarkable successes (gaining press credentials for both a VP and POTUS campaign event) and a failure or two along the way (turned down for an Air Force One arrival and the Obama campaign kick-off event in Columbus). I chose to forgo a rather significant event in the 2012 general election campaign (the joint Romney-Ryan appearance) for which I openly regretted not making the effort to attend. It was in the spirit of that last "no-show" that I decided to try and cover a potentially significant event leading up to the upcoming 2016 presidential race--a local appearance of the presumptive Democratic nominee, former First Lady/US Senator/Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at a bookstore in the greater Dayton area. Regrettably, after you read what I provide below, you will probably agree with me that this was an event where I should've just stayed home.

A/V: 2014 SPJ Region 4 Conference -- Columbus, Ohio

Columbus was the host location for the 2014 SPJ Region 4 Spring Conference.

The Central Ohio Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists hosted the Region 4 Spring Conference this past weekend in Columbus, Ohio on the campus of The Ohio State University. Members from the Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia and western Pennsylvania areas attended this annual event, billed as a professional, mentoring and networking event for journalists, students, educators and communicators to hear from industry experts about a wide range of journalism issues. In addition to those activities, an awards luncheon to honor the best of collegiate journalism in the region was held between the morning and afternoon sessions on Saturday.

Guest Papers: Vacation Edition (Part 4 and Final)

Here is the last grouping from my trip back to Ohio on Saturday, featuring papers from the District of Columbia, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio.  My only regret is that I could not find copies of The Onion or Politico in any vending machines around the District.  Represented are Washington, DC (The Washington Post, The Washington Times), McLean (USA Today), Frederick (The Frederick News-Post), Morgantown (The Dominion Post), Charleston (The Saturday Gazette-Mail), Washington (The Observer-Reporter), Pittsburgh (The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Tribune-Review), Wheeling (The Intelligencer) and Columbus (The Columbus Dispatch).

BTS: Obama Columbus Rally

[NOTE: this 'BTS' has taken a LOT longer than I originally thought it would to compose and post.  A funeral, moving our daughter home from college and Mother's Day all subtracted time from my already meager allowance for blogging and this was an item that I wanted to 'polish up' before posting.]

So close...but still a 'no-go'

If you are a frequent visitor to this blog, you would know that I like to focus on certain areas for my reporting and politics is probably right at the top of that list.  Over the past five to six months, I've covered several events in my local area related to the current 2012 presidential campaign.  Back in November, I made my political reporting 'debut' at one of Herman Cain's last rallies before he suspended his campaign due to accusations of personal misconduct and infidelity.  In February, I attended a Newt Gingrich rally in Dayton when the former House speaker was still considered by many to be a viable candidate for the Republican nomination.  In early March, I went to two separate events in two different cities for Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney being held on the same day in the run-up to a contentious state primary contest.  So it would be no surprise to anyone that I would make the trip to Columbus two Saturdays ago to attend the "Ready to Go" rally for the kick-off of the Obama/Biden 2012 reelection campaign.

A/V: Obama 2012 Campaign Kicks Off in Columbus

President Barack Obama waves to the crowd as he makes his way to the podium to deliver remarks at the Obama 2012 reelection campaign's kickoff event in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday.

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama paid a short visit to Ohio's capital city on Saturday afternoon to formally kick off the Obama 2012 reelection campaign at the "Ready to Go" rally hosted at the Ohio State University's Value City Arena at the Jerome Schottenstein Center.  About 14,000 enthusiastic supporters attended the nearly two-hour event that featured speeches by both of the Obamas as well as other current and former Ohio Democratic officials.

Unscheduled Trip Back Home

 Four days...1200+ miles...and 12 newspapers!

As I mentioned in my previous posting, a death in my extended family had me undertake a long-distance 'road trip' earlier this month.  It was an unexpected event so I had very little time to prepare for the 500-mile drive to arrive in time for the funeral.  To keep my previous blog promise, I finished my post on the Herman Cain campaign stop in the wee hours of the 1st and turned in for a couple of hours of sleep before heading out of town early that same morning.  On the way out, I stopped for gas and liquid refreshments and picked up a copy of the local paper to compare my online work to that produced by Dayton Daily News staff writers Lynn Hulsey and Justin McClelland.  Satisfied that I hit all the salient points of that visit, I cracked a smile at the register, paid for my goods, and strapped myself into the driver's seat for the long ground trek ahead.

Guest Papers: Catch-Up Edition

October has been a very busy month for me so I'm adding a few papers here to catch up on this feature.  The first two were from a trip to Columbus at the beginning of the month.  The third one was our local daily from last weekend.

Guest Paper: Columbus Dispatch

Living in an region within a few hours drive of four (Indianapolis, Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati) of the largest 62 cities in the United States, I frequently have the opportunity to sample their journalistic offerings.  As someone who grew up with newsprint-stained hands, I prefer the physical copy to the online versions and currently subscribe to the local Dayton paper and the Sunday edition of the New York Times.  Whenever I visit those other cities, I try to buy a copy of their current edition as a show of solidarity for the traditional newspaper industry.

I made a short trip to Columbus yesterday for family-related business and made sure to keep that streak alive.  To document my support, I will post photos here to keep a running account.

A personal note:  while I understand the financial constraints that papers now face and novel ways they must now employ to attract customers for their advertisers, putting flaps or stickers or anything else on the front page detracts from the aesthetics of the reading process (the 'pre-processed' version is on the left above while the final 'converted' version is on the right).