Colorado’s two largest newspapers and Elitch Gardens will host the biggest party of the 2008 Democratic National Convention, officials are expected to announce from the amusement park today.
The Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News, through the Denver Newspaper Agency, will pay to host the so-called media party and will invite the 15,000 members of the media, the more than 6,000 delegates and alternates, and assorted Democratic VIPs, sources said.
A major musical act with Colorado ties will entertain the throng, the sources said.
The party is a chance for the city to showcase itself to the media covering the convention. A similar one took place at Elitch’s 100 years ago when the Democrats last had their convention in Denver.
Held on the Saturday night before the Aug. 25-28 convention, the party kicks off a week of reveling. Denver’s host committee is responsible for arranging the fete, as well as parties for the delegations. Private parties also will abound. In all, more than 1,500 parties, large and small, are expected in and around convention week, but none approaching the scale of the media party.
Organizers hope to portray Denver to the media as a cosmopolitan city on par with past convention hosts such as Boston and Philadelphia. The news organizations also hope to cast the event as a party for journalists and not an endorsement of a political party or candidate.
William Dean Singleton, publisher of The Denver Post and chief executive of ap Inc., one of the nation’s largest newspaper chains, donated money to host a party for the national media’s first walk-through of the Pepsi Center, where the convention will be held, last fall.
It’s common for papers in convention cities to donate money to the host committees. The Boston Globe gave $750,000 when the Democrats came to town in 2004. The New York Times donated the same amount that year to help host the GOP confab.
The Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News operate under a joint operating agreement through the Denver Newspaper Agency, though their newsrooms and editorial boards are separate and competitive.
Chuck Plunkett: 303-954-1333 or cplunkett@denverpost.com
