Why does CPAC get so much gawd damned coverage

[JHB]

50. A lot of it is "Legacy coverage"... and part is location...

When it was first started, CPAC was one of the major venues for forging and managing the conservative coalition from Reagan onward. For most of reporters' careers it was a "major political event" that deserved coverage, even as it drifted further and further into whackadoodlestan. Plus snubbing it would simply confirm conservatives neverending claim of "liberal media bias".

And let's not forget location. Location, location, location.

It's in Washington (or right across the river from it), where the political reporters are already located and it's convenient to get to. And it's there every year. It's easy, a "big story" for very little effort.

In comparison, Netroots Nation (originally named Yearly Kos) has been held at: Las Vegas, Chicago, Austin, Pittsburgh, Las Vegas again, Minneapolis, Providence, San Jose, and this year will be in Detroit. Various factors go into the decision of where to hold it, but one element that is not high on the selection criteria is making it no-brainer easy for lazy-ass Washington-based political reporters to go to.