Eric Richardson [Flickr]

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — This week is Bike to Work week, and yesterday the City held a kickoff event on the South Lawn of City Hall. A few politicians spoke, Ed Begley Jr. said a few things about how he gets around, and then there was a set by local bike-friendly band The Ditty Bops. All good stuff, and even a little better than you might expect from an event like this.

What I had to laugh at, though, was the way the stage was set up. The action was going on up the steps at City Hall, and directly in front of those at the mic were a solid wall of TV cameras and photographers. The audience down below had zero view of an event that was supposedly being put on for its benefit.

If you're going to put on an event and then make it where only the press can see, just go ahead and call it a press conference.