Turns out, covering the first presidential debate isn’t a priceless experience after all.
Journalists reporting on the highly anticipated showdown between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump at Hofstra University on Long Island were asked to pay $200 to connect to Wi-Fi, several outlets reported.
According to Hofstra’s rate sheet, the pricey connection fee — just one of the things they charged for — will cover “the reasonable costs of the rental of products, services and/or other items” which also include cameras and furniture.
And anyone attempting to beat the fee by connecting via personal hotspot were at risk of being caught and shut down by sleuthing debate workers.
“Technicians patrolling #debatenight press file using this device to detect & shut down hotspots, so they can sell $200 wifi accounts instead,” tweeted Politico reporter Kenneth Vogel, along with a photo of a signal-tracking device.
Vogel also told Gizmodo that any people who do not comply will have their credentials revoked.
The gouging may have been a moot point, since the pricey Wi-Fi connection was reported to be down less than an hour before the debate was to begin.
Other media-specific fees included $75 for a “Media Filing Center Seat,” with no internet access and $325 for “Ethernet Access & Media Filing.”
If Trump or Clinton planned to fire off a tweetstorm or perhaps conduct state business via mobile phone from the stage, they were going to pay dearly for the privilege.