In the Emmy press tent

"You’re going to the Emmys! How exciting!"

Friends and family say stuff like this, but in the trade press we know differently. There is nothing less glamorous than sitting at the cramped table in a parking lot press tent while wearing a ridiculous-for-the-environment tuxedo. It’s like you’re a character in a New Yorker cartoon, an overdressed urban camper (pass the carabineers and caviar, please).   

There was some hope this year of a more comfortable atmosphere since the Emmys moved from the creaky Shrine Auditorium to the shiny Nokia Theatre (whose name is nice mix of a cell phone company and the Ye Olde English spelling of “theater” – “The ring tone is the thing wherein I’ll catch the conscience of a” – you get the idea).

That hope was dashed when reporters arrived and found they’re still in a tent. Only now the tent is located on the top of the venue’s parking garage. It’s like being on a concrete mountain top, where stars clutching statues ascend to commune with their media elders.