
For starters, the university’s media rate card offers a combination Internet-and-telephone package for $650, including both wireless and hard-wired network connections. Renting a laptop computer costs $250, a laser printer is $550 (supplies included), and a high-speed copier runs $1,650 (including paper). Add on another $15 for an outlet strip to plug everything in.
But bloggers won’t want to work standing up, of course — a four-foot table is $44 ($51.50 for the eight-foot version), and padded folding chairs are $11 each. A mini-fridge? That’s another $150.
For those doing more than just writing, the university has additional offerings. A parking place big enough for a network production trailer and a work trailer costs $3,500 (electrical connections included). A camera platform inside the hall is $6,000, but a stand-up spot outside is cheap at $350. A six-by-eight-foot interview space in “Spin Alley,” in the media filing center, is $400.
The $6,000 network camera platform (inside the debate hall) — “limit one per approved network” — comes sans decorative plants. They’re a bargain at a mere $52.50 each.
As a long-time veteran of the “convention wars”, the prices don't surprise me in the least. In fact, considering the magnitude of the event, the location, and its impact, they sound downright cheap.
What about use of the “facilities” should Mother Nature call?
This looks like an airline-style scheme. I _love_ the power strip “rental charge.”