Where Were The Meeting & Convention PlannersWhen NAR Designed Its Press Room?

The 2005 annual convention of The National Assn. of REALTORS^®  in San Francisco drew a crowd of some 25,000 attendees, arguably one of the largest gatherings of its kind in the country. Vendors and exhibitors in the cavernous Moscone Halls showcased high tech toys and tools that wowed REALTORS^® and had the T1 lines cooking. Not so in the press room, however. Albeit, I only had a day or so to observe the inner sanctum before the folks at public affairs gave me the royal boot. But I was amazed, frankly, that the public affairs office of the most powerful lobbying group in the U.S. would choose to go retro in its own press room. Hasn't anyone told them that Olivettis are out this year? The press corps was left to its own devices and air cards to file stories...there was a dial-up line here and there...but no place to establish an ethernet connection...and wireless is just too out of vogue with these folks. I say, "Turn the press room over to those CRT guys and let the presses roll!" --Frances Flynn Thorsen