‘We cross live to a closed door’

Why do TV political reporters stand outside venues where the ANC national executive committee is holding its meetings behind closed doors? They stand in the sun for hours on end, trying to make sense of what is taking place inside the meeting venue. They often retire to their homes none the wiser, only to find blow-by-blow details of such meetings in newspapers whose reporters spent the previous day in their air-conditioned offices doing the actual work.