the kicker

Conventional Wisdom

As a lead-up to Denver, the Washington Post has enlisted David Broder–who has covered every convention since 1956 (again: 1956)–for a series of videos in which...
August 22, 2008

As a lead-up to Denver, the Washington Post has enlisted David Broder–who has covered every convention since 1956 (again: 1956)–for a series of videos in which he reflects on conventions past.

“I love conventions,” Broder says in today’s spot, “but they’re not today what they were then.”

Slight understatement, perhaps. But that makes the remarkable evolution the conventions–bastions both of tradition and innovation–have undergone over the years well worth documenting. And who better to do that than a veteran?








Megan Garber is an assistant editor at the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard University. She was formerly a CJR staff writer.