Some days, it seems the Dems have it easy - after all the convention in Boston appeared to go off without a hitch. Will the "feel good" Boston experience be repeated when the Republicans convene in New York on the 30th to affirm their party platform and support for President Bush? How will the press cover both convention speeches and what may be the largest assembly of demonstrators in history? With the eyes of the world on these contrasting displays of democracy, how will the media meet the public's need to know? Where can we go to find news we can trust?

Though the mainstream press loves a "horse race," voters say that issues count. Dwindling network coverage of the conventions means people will seek other sources for analysis, from Internet and cable news services to "blogs." How will the interests of the coveted "swing voters" - Latinos, Native Americans, women and youth - be covered by newsrooms where reporter diversity is shrinking?

• Recent studies reveal that not only do campaign ads frame how news media reports stories, but these ads are the number one source of information to voters.
  
  
• Nationwide, people of color are just 12% of newspaper journalists and only 10% of reporters covering the nation's capitol - although they now make up 30% of the nation's population.
  
  
• Only 13% of journalists of color surveyed think the coverage by the Washington Press Corps does a good job of covering race related issues.

Making more news than Gov. Schwarzenegger's appearance is the potential number of demonstrators en route to the convention. Fearing protestors will resort to violence, the FBI is doing pre-convention questioning of political demonstrators that many claim is a poorly disguised attempt at intimidation. Convention security is prepared for extreme crowd control methods, including containing demonstrators in metal pens in designated "free speech zones." How much coverage will the press give demonstrators? How will press coverage affect public perception of demonstrations?

• Some protestors hope that the leaderlessness of nonviolent, anarchistic protests will help them evade attempts at containment, calling their efforts as "uncoordinated actions toward a coordinated goal."
  
  
• The four day security budget of $76 million is complete with 10,000 police officers and high tech crowd control and monitoring methods.

How much airtime will be dedicated to coverage of the RNC by major networks? Is it enough? Why does it matter? Where can the public go for alternative sources of coverage? How will the views and issues of importance for racial and ethnic groups be covered? Will the lack of diversity in reporters covering the RNC affect how issues are covered? How will coverage of the RNC differ from the earlier Democratic National Convention? How will the Republicans reach out to swing voters - Latinos, women, youth and Native Americans - how will these efforts play in our new sources? How will the 10,000 NYPD officers prioritize their duties when they are expected to protect 20,000 Republicans, and 200,000 protestors? How will demonstrators at the RNC be portrayed?