Welcome to the NPR debate live chat for credentialed media.  If you are participating live (2:00-3:00PM ET, November 29), please submit any questions throughout the session.  If you are reading this as an archive post on the NPR.org media credentials page and still have questions that weren’t answered live, please contact Leah Yoon (lyoon(AT)npr.org), Senior Manager, Media Relations, NPR.

 

Who’s on our end:  Leah, NPR Debate Executive Producer Susan Feeney and Andi Sporkin (asporkin(AT)npr.org) Vice President for Communications, NPR.  All of us will be answering the questions although Andi will be doing all the typing.  Also, we will be entering and answering questions we’ve received from some members of the media since we posted our FAQ on the credentialing page.

 

We look forward to seeing you at our event.

 

~Susan, Leah and Andi 

 

--BEGIN TRANSCRIPT--

 

asporkin_npr(Q)  This is Andi. Let me start with a question that came to us: Can I pick up credentials before Tuesday?

 

asporkin_npr(A)  Credential pick-up times at the Museum debate check-in desk are Monday and Tuesday, 9:30A-12N. You'll need to bring a valid press ID with photo, or government-issued ID with photo. Sorry, we won't permit pick-up for others.

 

jholmes_vintoneagle(Q)  Will there be access for us to the candidates and if so before or after the debate?

 

asporkin_npr(A)  We will have a full spin room set up immediately after the debate for media with the candidates and/or their surrogates. We will also have pool spray with the candidates before the debate begins and upon its conclusion.

 

asporkin_npr(Q)  How will the spin room be set up?

 

asporkin_npr(A)  Let me also explain our spin room set-up. We will have adjacent spaces for broadcast media and print/online media. This arrangement will let TV crews maintain fixed positions (with a little elbow room). For TV crew members who don't need to be in the filing room during debate, they are welcome to sit in the Auditorium (also adjacent to the spin rooms) where we will pipe in the debate audio and have some VIP guests.

 

asporkin_npr(Q)  Important question: will there be food?

 

asporkin_npr(A)  Yes - we'll have lunch and beverages.

 

asporkin_npr(Q)  Who's the contact if we need a comment from NPR management?

 

asporkin_npr(A)  I'm the contact: Andi Sporkin, asporkin(AT)npr.org I'll be in Des Moines beginning Sunday morning.

 

asporkin_npr(Q)  Can members of the media who aren't credentialed do so Tuesday at the door?

 

asporkin_npr(A)  We can't promise. We strongly urge you to tell colleagues to submit credentialing requests as soon as possible (i.e. now) since media space is limited and the check-in desk will be handling everyone coming through in a short window of time. The incoming credential request forms are monitored frequently at our end.

 

asporkin_npr(Q)  This is another question we've gotten recently: can we bring a video crew in the debate room briefly during the broadcast? 

 

asporkin_npr(A)  Sorry, no. This is an audio-only debate.

 

jtomlin_meettheprez(Q)  When is video allowed?

 

asporkin_npr(A)  There will be the pool sprays before the debate begins and after it's finished. Beyond that, media can shoot individual video in the spin rooms post-debate.

 

asporkin_npr(Q)  And another question that's come in: where can we park?

 

asporkin_npr(A)  There's a free parking garage (Capitol Complex Parking) on the NW corner of E. Penn Ave and Grand Ave. You enter on Grand or on Des Moines St (1 block N of Grand Ave). For SATELLITE TRUCKS: you can park on either side of the building on Grand Ave (N side of building) or Locust Ave (S side of building, closest to the broadcast spin room). Truck street use permits need to be arranged through the city clerk's office.

 

asporkin_npr(Q)  For TV crews...how long is the cable run from the spin room to where you're parking?

 

asporkin_npr(A)  Depending on where the truck is parked, 100-200 feet. The Museum has told us that this set-up has worked successfully with news crews. 

 

asporkin_npr(Q)  Will the moderators be available to talk to the media?

 

asporkin_npr(A)  There might be some availability prior to the debate (Sunday, Monday, possibly Tuesday AM) or after. If you have specific interest, please contact Leah Yoon at lyoon(AT)npr.org 

 

asporkin_npr(C)  Just so we're better prepared, for those media representatives logged on: are you planning on picking up credentials Monday or Tuesday? If you can respond in the "ask" box, that would be helpful.

 

asporkin_npr(C)  Thanks for the responses - that'll help us with check-in staffing.

 

asporkin_npr(C)  Here's contact info for street use permits (for TV trucks): Traffic and Transportation Division, 400 Robert D. Ray Drive, Des Moines - 515-283-4209

 

asporkin_npr(C)  We're going to wrap. Thanks for attending. This will be archived on this page starting 4:00PM (ET) today, November 29. Any other questions, please contact us...e-mail's best...and see you in Des Moines.

 

--END TRANSCRIPT--