Media Center tour

For those wondering what the media center is like:

-- It takes up one of the five enormous exhibition halls in the Sydney Exhibition Center (the massive vocations fair is next door in another hall).

-- There are nine huge rows of tables, all set up with phones, Internet connections and electric outlets.

-- There are four sets of two flat screens staggered down the middle of the room where we can watch and listen to the official WYD video feed.

-- Around two sides of the hall are three rows of temporary studio booths, primarily for radio and television. The other two sides have a large press conference area, a business center if you need photocopies and printouts, and a lengthy area of media assistants who pass out the event passes and answer questions about arrangements.

-- In one corner is a 4-foot tall statue of St. Francis De Sales, the patron saint of journalists.

-- The media center has its own WYD gift shop, so you don't have to wait in long lines like at most sites.

-- There is a cafeteria in the back. Expect to pay $12 for a sandwich, drink and chips. Beer and wine are also sold there. There are vending machines that charge $3 for a 20 oz. soda/water bottle and $2.20-$3 for chips or candy. There are water coolers too, and they're amazingly free of charge.

-- On the side of one wall of offices (you can see it on the far right) are transcripts in several languages of all major speeches by the pope and dignitaries, as well as tons of fact sheets on those speakers, on the Catholic Church (since many secular media journalists are covering this) and miscellaneous topics (i.e. all you want to know about the popemobile).

-- On one wall, there are eight clocks keeping the time of: Sydney, the Vatican, Rome, Tokyo, New York, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro and London.

-- All media must pass through security screenings every time they enter the media center.

Another neat thing not at the center... for events at Barangaroo, we had a special ferry that shuttled us to near the back of the main stage/altar. One of my favorite memories from this week is hopping aboard it after an event and quietly absorbing the nightlights of Sydney all around me.

That's about all I have now after a quick glance around the room. The picture above was taken a few seconds ago. It's a bit empty since a bunch of photographers and writers have gone out to various Stations of the Cross sites. If I took this picture again three hours from now, it would be pretty full and hectic.

If there's anything you'd like to know about the media center, fire away.