July 11, 2024, SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — New England Public Media is sending photojournalist Barry Goldstein to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to produce “Red in a Blue State: Stories from the 2024 RNC.” With on-the-ground access, Goldstein will examine the backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives of Massachusetts attendees and others at the RNC from Monday, July 15 through Thursday, July 18. Goldstein will chronicle the event and attendees through documentary photography, portraiture, video, and audio interviews for NEPM.
The project will explore what it is like for Republicans to live in an overwhelmingly majority blue state. What drives and motivates them to align themselves politically with the conservative side of the aisle? How do they feel about their party as they head into the voting booths this November? What is it like for them to be at the preeminent gathering and celebration of their party, and surrounded by so many other like-minded people?
“Massachusetts is an overwhelmingly Democratic state,” said Tony Dunne, director of content for NEPM. “As part of NEPM’s mission to present diverse voices, we want to offer residents on the left side of the aisle an open window into the political process taking place in Milwaukee, in order to better understand the hearts and minds of their friends, neighbors, and family members on the right who may have different viewpoints than their own.”
The multimedia project will be found at nepm.org/rnc2024. “Red in a Blue State: Stories from the 2024 RNC” content will appear on 88.5 NEPM programming, including “The Rundown with Carrie Saldo'' and “The Fabulous 413.” Photos, audiograms and video from the project will be distributed via NEPM’s social media channels.
In August, Goldstein will head to Chicago, Illinois to document the Democratic National Convention with a similar multimedia approach for NEPM.
Barry Goldstein is a photojournalist who has been embedded with and profiled soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, covered the aftermath of the events of 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, documented the efforts of volunteer medical workers in Honduras, and chronicled protests and political conventions. His work has appeared in The Boston Globe, The Atlantic, The American Scholar, and others. He is the author of "Gray Land: Soldiers on War" and the collection "Being There: Medical Student Morgue Volunteers Following 9/11."
Goldstein is Associate Professor of Medical Humanities at the University of Rochester Medical Center, and was Visiting Professor of Humanities at Williams College and Adjunct Professor of Humanism in Medicine at the NYU Medical School.
“Red in a Blue State: Stories from the 2024 RNC” follows another collaboration between NEPM and Barry Goldstein — the award-winning multimedia project “Divided: Scenes from Inauguration 2021.”
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