After seeing the Argus-Dispatch (A-D) newspaper and television stations WHBF(CBS) / KLJB (Fox) * transmit credulously the attendance at the Hampton Labor Day goings-on as: “organizers estimated 5000 people attended the event” we thought it appropriate to delve into it a little deeper lest people think that number was necessarily anywhere near the number of people who stayed to listen to Hillary Clinton.
According to the A-D , “the outdoor crowd waited an extra 60 minutes or so from the tentative 4 p.m. start for Ms. Clinton to arrive” That puts her speech starting about 5 p.m. or so. By the time we left, a little after 4 p.m., more people in general appeared to be leaving than were dribbling in, and that had been true for at least an hour.
The most inclusive crowd shots we found of those who stayed to listen to Hillary are in these freeze frame captures from television station WQAD (ABC) the A-D and WHBF, all reporting on the event that evening. Granted, these are not aerial shots and not all inclusive but they are obviously from a higher vantage point.
Attendees were not seen behind the speakers platform. That is to be expected unless they are are in a security sector, usually part of a bleacher cheering section used as a backdrop. That positioning was not used although there was a bleacher set-up off to the side. The press platform is usually a good distance back and because the cameras and operators block the view, people would not be expected to stand behind them, rather they gravitate to the wings or crowd up.
We put the figure listening in the expected proximity of Hillary as being in the hundreds not the thousands, maybe a thousand.
Screen shot from WHBF report
Screen shot from WQAD report
Screen grab of A-D online report / picture selection
Estimating crowd size is a bit of a discipline and our technique was to enlarge the picture on our screen and count in this case ten heads, then use the area of the screen that encompasses that congregation (allowing for camera focal plane and field of view) to estimate the number of such groupings to encompass the picture and thus arrive at a figure.
We will be happy to correct our estimate with better photographic evidence. Something from the stage would be particularly helpful.
R Mall
*Readers may not be aware that WHBF and KlJB have come under co-management of late and are involved in some sort of online presence as OurQuadCities.com. Previously KLJB (TV) and WQAD (TV) had some sort of arrangement sharing news content. Davenport’s KWQC has some sort of content arrangement with WOC radio. But perish the thought of pack journalism.
