January 27, 2005

Inauguration Day coverage from CNN includes Young’s

By Diane Chiddister

Outside Young’s Golden Jersey Inn last Thursday, a snowstorm raged. But inside television cameras shared space with miniature cows in checked dresses and Mary Jane shoes. Sophisticated lighting equipment dangled from the ceiling next to toy tractors. Well-coiffed guys dressed in black and carrying cellphones mingled with Midwestern grandmothers.

It was a study in contrasts — of the urban East Coast and rural Midwest, of 21st century technology and old-fashioned life on the farm — at the popular local restaurant on Inauguration Day.

On that day the Golden Jersey Inn claimed its 15 minutes — or, more accurately, seven hours — of national fame when it served as the backdrop for segments of CNN’s coverage of the second inauguration of President George W. Bush.

After CNN chose the restaurant as the site of the station’s only citizen panel on Inauguration Day, the Golden Jersey Inn was transformed into a temporary television studio broadcasting to millions of viewers, even as red-shirted waiters and waitresses trotted through, carrying trays of fried chicken and sweet potato casserole.

“It’s been an eventful two days at the farm,” Trisha Oelslager, the assistant manager of the Golden Jersey Inn, said at the end of Thursday.

From midmorning until 5 p.m., a panel of six Springfield residents sat at a large round table with CNN host Carlos Watson, watching the inauguration on a large TV as cameramen, makeup artists and producers hovered nearby and waiters served lunch to perplexed-looking customers. Six times during the day the station cut to Young’s, where the panelists — four Bush supporters and two Kerry backers — offered their opinions on the event and the direction of the country under its 43rd president.

CNN producers pronounced themselves satisfied with the outcome.

“We were very pleased,” said Lucy Spiegel, CNN vice president for public affairs. “It was an interesting discussion and a reflection of where our country is right now.”

Teresa Demana of Springfield, a Kerry supporter on the panel, said she was also satisfied with the discussion, even though she wished she had had the opportunity to speak more about her primary concern, the need for stem cell research.

“I had fun. I learned things,” she said. “I learned a little more about how many different perspectives there can be on one issue and how people with different views can sit at one table and have respect for each other.”

Bush supporter Bob Buchy of Springfield also came away impressed with the discussion’s civil tone.

“There were a lot of interesting ideas and viewpoints,” he said. “I find personally that there’s not as much difference between what Democrats want and what Republicans want. We just need to try to find a language to get it put together.”

Preparations for the event, which attracted TV and print media from Springfield, Dayton and Yellow Springs, began several days earlier, according to Spiegel, who came to Ohio on Monday to scout out panel participants. CNN chose Ohio because of the state’s pivotal role in the election, and focused on Clark County because “it was interesting to us that in 2000 Springfield voters went for Gore and in 2004 they went for Bush,” she said. “From a political viewpoint, we wondered what were the reasons for the switch.”

CNN employees were also familiar with the Springfield area because they came here in October for a nationally televised town meeting hosted by correspondent Paula Zahn. From those previous contacts, CNN interviewed about 100 to 150 people as potential panelists. Those chosen were not selected for a particular political affiliation, Spiegel said, but rather for their personalities.

“We chose the most interesting people,” she said.

CNN site scouts were visiting Young’s on Tuesday, the restaurant’s CEO, Dan Young, said, when he noticed three men nosing around the business. When the men identified their mission, Young said he offered the space for free.

Spiegel said CNN chose Young’s for a variety of reasons, some technical and others decorative.

“It had a large enough area to get our trucks in and seat a group around a table, and the management was willing,” she said. “And it looked like Ohio to us.”

Crews spent all day Wednesday hanging lights, said Brandon Cundiff of the Cincinnati-based Midwest Grip and Lighting. The restaurant’s miniature tractors, which dangle from ceiling beams, provided a challenge, he said.

“It was kind of hard working around all the stuff hanging there,” he said.

After inauguration events began Thursday morning, Watson and the six panelists spent long periods sipping iced tea, chatting and watching the inauguration on TV. But six times through the day bursts of intense activity broke the calm as producers and cameramen sprang to action, signaling that Young’s was about to go live to millions of viewers. The panelists then responded to Watson’s questions as, from other tables, customers paused mid-bite to watch.

Many customers, alerted by local news coverage, had come to witness the broadcast.

“I think it’s a great thing. I always liked Young’s. It makes me proud to be from this area,” said John R. Fleming of Springfield, who said he supports Bush for “his plain-spoken ways.”

Yellow Springer John Deselem dressed up in a turtleneck sweater and suit, and spent the day watching from a nearby table.

“I thought it was a great idea to share the pageantry of the inauguration,” Deselem said. “And the acoustics are great.”

Debbie Young Whittaker, an employee at Young’s who was sitting with Deselem, said the restaurant’s Web site had received 700 hits that day, mainly from people inquiring about the broadcast.

Antioch College student Derek Henry and two friends came to Young’s hoping for an opportunity to get a national audience for their anti-Bush views. The students were disappointed, but Young’s offered certain consolations, and Henry enjoyed a strawberry ice cream sundae.

Outside the restaurant, three Yellow Springs activists, Sylvia Carter Denny, Susan Carpenter and Kathy Robinson, braved the cold and a fierce snowstorm to pass out leaflets that spelled out their reasons for opposing the Bush administration, including the war in Iraq and the budget deficit. In face-to-face contact with Young’s customers, Carter Denny said, she emphasized her distress at the inaugural event’s opulence, and found that most people agreed.

“All of this money is going for a flagrant display of wealth, which is totally inappropriate given the situation the world is in,” Carter Denny said.

A steady stream of people came and went throughout the day, but many customers wanted to watch the broadcast from behind the scenes rather than order food, according to Sarah Wendel, a Young’s waitress. While the event posed challenges to Young’s employees, such as not tripping over the many electrical cords, they were happy to host CNN, Wendel said.

“We’re so small and so rural. It’s not every day that this happens” she said.

Around 5 p.m. the panelists finished their last live feed, unsnapped their microphones and chatted together before heading back to their regular lives. Crews dismantled the lights and packed up cameras, and Young’s employees pushed tables back to their usual spots.

The event was well worth the effort, said Dan Young.

“It was fantastic to be a part of something like this,” he said, noting that the CNN staff was accommodating and easy to work with.

Oelslager said that the CNN employees endeared themselves to Young’s staff in other ways as well.

“I think we made some new friends,” she said. “And they loved our ice cream.”