Al Gore Dissed Me

Al Gore is so high school! He totally blacklisted me from his party. OK—it was a keynote address and he banned the entire press. Still, those who were invited said the speech was “far from groundbreaking” so what’s with the press ban?
In a keynote address at the RSA Conference, Gore, the former U.S. vice president, highlighted the importance of using technology to combat global warming. Beyond that, I can’t tell you what he said because, as a member of the press, I wasn’t allowed in.
Hmm, I thought, maybe I could watch the trade show talk on video afterwards? Not a chance, said the public relations folks parked outside the conference room, as all video recordings, broadcasts and photography are prohibited, also.
“What’s up with the secrecy?” I asked. “Why would Gore ban the people who can best deliver his message to the world?” PR would only say that the ban was part of his speaking contract.
But wait—there is good news. Gore’s people didn’t sew audience members’ mouths shut or brainwash them to forget what they had learned, so I was able to gather a few tidbits of information on the speech. According to attendees, Gore told them that:
* global warming is real and worse than previously thought;
* businesses needed to step it up when it comes to developing technology that conserves energy and fights global warming; and
* CO2 is invisible, so we need information technology to track it.
None of the attendees with whom I spoke could think of a single reason why the press would be banned from such a talk. All thought it was strange—one guy added that the speech was “far from groundbreaking” and “you didn’t miss much.”
Maybe next time, Gore should focus less on the press and think about banning hecklers. Apparently, he was interrupted by four singing, shouting hecklers who called him a liar and told him to stop trying to depopulate the earth. Sheesh…..we journalists have better manners than that!
-- Michelle Savage