Impostors With a Camera Gain Access to Big Show

Mike Leach and Tim Cassady can’t believe they got away with it.

For the past week, these barely employed men strolled the floor of the Democratic National Convention interviewing everyone from Jesse Jackson to media celebrities such as Ed Bradley and Jeff Greenfield.

Who do they work for?

Newswire.

What’s that?

They don’t know, but it sounded good enough to get credentials into the convention, where they made a documentary they hope to sell to public television.

The 30-year-old Leach from Newbury Park has yearned to be in television his entire life. In college, he won national speech tournaments but was rebuffed when he applied at local television stations.

He did some public access television in Thousand Oaks but said the equipment “broke down at least half the time.”

Then he teamed with 29-year-old Cassady from Camarillo with an idea for a documentary--a reality-based film like Michael Moore’s hit movie “Roger and Me,” about a man’s attempt to meet with the head of General Motors.

The pair gave themselves the moniker “Newswire,” created a logo with green paper and a bit of photocopying, and received access to the convention floor.

Leach, who calls himself a “nobody,” marveled at his luck as he chased down politicians and celebrities who were only too happy to stop and chat while the camera rolled.

“They would ask where we were from and we’d say ‘Newswire,’ and they’d say ‘Oh, Newswire!’ ” the 29-year-old Cassady said, chuckling.

Leach claimed the key to nabbing interviews was simply acting the part of a media hotshot.

That meant dressing in sharp suits, walking briskly and always being trailed by a camera.

Indeed, as Leach spoke, Cassady filmed him, and everyone walking past paused to see if they recognized the tall, blond man in the pin-striped suit.

They didn’t.

“When the camera light is on it’s like a magnet,” said Leach, who looks considerably younger than his age.

Besides Greenfield and Bradley, they buttonholed film critic Michael Medved and Jim Lehrer of PBS and were aiming for Sam Donaldson.

Their method? Leach prepares his questions carefully and is unfailingly polite.

“These people are human beings like anyone else,” he said. “I think as long as you are professional, as long as you ask solid questions, it’s all right.”

On Thursday they rounded up conservative Los Angeles radio show host Larry Elder to talk about Hollywood’s influence on politics. They led him outside to the gate of Staples Center and encouraged him to debate protesters at the fence.

It worked like a charm.

In no time, Elder was battling it out with a guy wearing an American flag and a woman dressed like the Statue of Liberty.

Leach watched the spectacle and smiled.

“We try to bring people together who would normally never talk to each other,” he said. “A lot of it is satire.”

Cassady used to work in Silicon Valley but is now between jobs. Leach wracked his brain to come up with a career before settling on public relations consultant.

The two argue frequently.

Cassady badgers Leach on what questions to ask, and Leach tries to calm Cassady down with a “relax dude” here and there.

The movie, which is untitled for now, will be 90 minutes, they say. They expect to have it done by January.

Both have high hopes. At first they thought they’d just show it on public access television, but now they have higher aspirations.

“If it doesn’t work, that’s fine,” said Leach, who insists he’s totally apolitical. “The point is that this is about the media covering the media covering the media.”