Nov. 6, 2012 – Losing Presidential candidate Mitt Romney delivers his concession speech to an audience of Republican supporters on the ballroom floor in the Boston Convention Center, the site of the Romney-Ryan election night headquarters. Photo by Billie Weiss. Nov. 6, 2012 – Losing Presidential candidate Mitt Romney delivers his concession speech to an audience of Republican supporters on the ballroom floor in the Boston Convention Center, the site of the Romney-Ryan election night headquarters. Photo by Billie Weiss. Nov. 6, 2012 – Losing Presidential candidate Mitt Romney waves to an audience of Republican supporters alongside his wife, Ann, and other members of his family in the ballroom of the Boston Convention Center, the site of the Romney-Ryan election night headquarters. Photo by Billie Weiss. Nov. 6, 2012 – Stephen Betz, husband of Plymouth, Mass. State Representative candidate, Debra Betz, watches as losing Presidential candidate Mitt Romney delivers his concession speech on the ballroom floor in the Boston Convention Center. Photo by Billie Weiss. Nov. 6, 2012 – MIT students Evan Davis (left) of Riverside, California and Ian Faust (right) of Columbia, Missouri await losing Presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s speech on the ballroom floor in the Boston Convention Center. Photo by Billie Weiss. Nov. 6, 2012 – Randy Blosil, a Republican finance committee member from Utah, takes a photograph as he watches losing Presidential candidate Mitt Romney deliver his concession speech on the ballroom floor in the Boston Convention Center. Photo by Billie Weiss. Nov. 6, 2012 – Republican supporters watch losing Presidential candidate Mitt Romney as he gives his concession speech on the ballroom floor in the Boston Convention Center. Photo by Billie Weiss. Nov. 6, 2012 – Craig Romney, the youngest of Mitt Romney’s five sons, addresses crowds on the ballroom floor in the Boston Convention Center, the site of the Romney-Ryan election night headquarters. Photo by Billie Weiss. Nov. 6, 2012 – The ballroom at the Romney-Ryan headquarters at the Convention Center in Boston, Massachusetts begins to fill with supporters. Photo by Billie Weiss. Nov. 6, 2012 – Media members gather on press risers on the ballroom floor in the Boston Convention Center, the site of the Romney-Ryan election night headquarters. Photo by Billie Weiss. Nov. 6, 2012 – Members of the media work inside the press filing center at the Boston Convention Center, the site of the Romney-Ryan headquarters on election night. Photo by Billie Weiss. Nov. 6, 2012 – A media member rests outside the press filing center at the Boston Convention Center, the site of the Romney-Ryan headquarters on election night. Photo by Billie Weiss. Nov. 6, 2012 – The exterior of the Boston Convention Center is shown on election night. The Convention Center is the site of the Romney-Ryan headquarters. Photo by Billie Weiss. I’ll remember this one for awhile. I was lucky enough to have been assigned to document election night for Boston University from inside Mitt Romney’s headquarters at the Boston Convention Center. Sometimes, doing good journalism in this crazy media world is all about access, who you know, and how you deal with the punches as they come. Last night was one of those times. I was credentialed as a full media member, which I was extremely grateful for, but even with my oversized yellow tag, I was only allowed access to the press filing center. I wasn’t the only one working under these circumstances, either. As you can see in photo 11 above, there were hundreds of media people from outlets all around the world stuck in the same position as me. I knew this would be a waiting game, and was prepared to sit around for a long time. But after finding every possible angle to photograph the mundane media room and two hallways which I had access to, I decided to try and work my way into the ballroom. I managed to get in while Craig Romney was speaking by blending with a pack of really loud foreign reporters, but was asked to leave within five minutes, and then again two minutes later. The second time, the guard meant it. But patience is a virtue and persistence proved to be the best asset we had last night. Just minutes before Mitt gave his concession speech, a BU reporter and I found a window of time and were able to slide in unnoticed. After a long night of being told “No,” there’s nothing sweeter than that feeling of knowing you got the shot, and filing the photos at 2:30 in the morning. That’s what makes this profession so fun.
