"The souvenirs I'm referring to are pins, mostly the size of the average thumbnail. Despite their modest size, these trinkets tell a story of the media's proximity to power, the ebb and flow of journalistic resources and the media pecking order. They tell a story of reporters' camaraderie and a sense of shared community. But poignantly, over time, they also tell a story of media decline."
"BellSouth, then a telecommunications giant, sponsored the media lounge at the convention - a place where famished reporters could secure some food and drink after they'd finished filing their articles, or find a quiet place to do a sit-down interview. Any journalist who used the media lounge was given an oval-shaped, enamel pin with a flattened image of the world and laser-like lines emanating from North America. "U.S. Presidential 1992 Elections," the caption said."
"I don't think this was the first convention pin created; I suspect they started popping up before 1992, even though I don't recall seeing any when I was covering the 1988 Democratic convention in Atlanta. (That was my first convention, and I may have simply missed them.) But if there was a golden age of political convention pins, it probably ran from 1996 to 2008, meaning that I got to experience all of it."
Thumbnail-sized convention pins function as souvenirs that reveal the media's proximity to power, fluctuations in journalistic resources, and the media pecking order across three decades. The pins also reflect reporters' camaraderie and a sense of shared community while marking a gradual decline in media influence. A 1992 BellSouth-sponsored media lounge pin featured an oval enamel design with a world image and radiating lines and the caption "U.S. Presidential 1992 Elections." Pins became widespread through a probable golden era from 1996 to 2008. Pins also appear in other communities, including Disney properties and international sporting events such as the Olympics.
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