Anyway, I suggested we meet at the Harp and Fiddle, one of my favorite downtown spots, and maybe check out some other locations from there.

Proffitt asked me, via e-mail, if I could arrange for them to talk to some local public figures. I suggested that I could ask state Rep. Eugene DePasquale, D-West Manchester, and York Mayor John Brenner to join us. DePasquale is a Hillary Clinton supporter and Brenner is backing Obama. I thought their back-and-forth might make for a good show. Proffitt thought that was a fine idea.

On Saturday evening, I met Proffitt and NPR reporter Alex Chadwick at the Harp and Fiddle. They were both really good guys who offered to pick up the tab on any food or drinks to show their appreciation for my help.

I'm trying to learn something about the basic principles of broadcasting both for the videos I put together for our Website and this blog, and for ydr.com's regular podcast "What Have We Learned?" It was worth it for me just watching these two professionals doing their jobs, and picking up whatever I could by osmosis.

One thing I learned is that the Harp and Fiddle may be a great place to hang out and grab a beer, but it's a lousy place to shoot video on a Sony camcorder. I got a lot of footage that night, which I was planning to edit into a video for this blog.

The problem is, it's dim in the Harp and Fiddle -- appropriately so for an Irish pub. My camera has a night filter, but the Harp and Fiddle is filled with lights such as candles, stage lights for the band, etc., that tend to register as supernova-like glares when I try that.

So no video. I'll just try to be especially vivid with my descriptions.

It turned out that Brenner couldn't make it. Proffitt and Chadwick said they were really hoping they could get an Obama supporter to balance things out.

I made a few phone calls, and councilwoman Genevieve Ray generously agreed to come out. As an added bonus, she brought Eric Menzer, soon-to-be head of York Counts, along with her.

Here's a link to the broadcast, which aired on Tuesday, April 8.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89467260

Ray and DePasquale both remarked on the irony of their respective affiliations. Ray said she's the ideal Hillary Clinton demographic: a white, 63-year-old feminist. Whereas DePasquale is a walking stereotype of the Obama supporter: a relatively young, reform-minded legislator with a Master's and a law degree.

But Ray said she supports Obama because she really does believe he represents a profound break from the status quo. DePasquale said he wants change too, but he believes Clinton is the better qualified of the two candidates to bring it about.

Menzer didn't end up on the broadcast. But he said he supports Obama because people seem genuinely excited about his candidacy and willing to support him all the way to the White House.

I didn't make the final cut either. They recorded me a little bit when I took them to see the Colonial Courthouse and the Lafayette statue on West Market Street. I talked to them about York's history, a subject that turns me into an insufferable know-it-all along the lines of Cliff from "Cheers." (Ya know there, Norm, the Articles of Confederation were signed in 1777. Hey Sammy! How bout another round over here?)

Believe me, my absence didn't hurt the broadcast at all.

By the way, I asked why they happened to pick York County. Chadwick said he'd done a story here years ago, and had found the people very friendly and cooperative toward the news media.

York Countians? Friendly and cooperative to the media? That led me to wonder -- had he covered every other story of his career in North Korea?

Just kidding. Kind of.