DOJ probes Indy Media site
August 31, 2004
The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation and is demanding records regarding Internet postings on nyc.indymedia.org that list the names of Republican delegates and urged protesters to give them an unwelcome reception, The New York Times reported.
The Indy Media site is run by the NYC Independent Media Center, which describes itself as a grass-roots group committed to using media tools “for promoting social and economic justice in the New York City area.” The site includes several lists containing the names of many delegates to the Republican convention, along with e-mail addresses, phone numbers and the hotels where some were expected to stay, as well as links to a site called rncdelegates.com. Most of the lists were posted anonymously or by demonstrators calling themselves the RNC Delegates Working Group. One list includes more than 2,200 delegates, or nearly half the expected total. In publicizing the information, organizers said in a posting that they were trying to supply groups opposed to the Republican National Committee “with data on the delegates to use in whatever way they see fit.”
“The delegates should know not only what people think of the platform that they will ratify, but that they are not welcome in New York City,” organizers said in a posting.
Officials at the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing Calyx, told The New York Times they were aware of no postings that encouraged violence or intimidation of Republican delegates and that the site contained political dialogue and information that was protected by the First Amendment.
Knight Ridder blogs RNC
August 31, 2004
Having taken the DNC by blog storm, Knight Ridder is at it again, with even more blogs for the Republican National Convention. This time around, in addition to the individual blogger sites, Knight Ridder has a single, RSS-fed page that gives an easy way for KR sites to connect readers with the latest posts from all of the blogs. Great idea. Always nice to see sites learn lessons from their work and quickly put improvements in place.
Here’s the latest list of Knight Ridder bloggers for the convention:
• Sky Box by Jay Rosen: NYU prof and author of PressThink blog covers the media’s role in a democracy
• Life of the Parties by Adam Smeltz: Covering the twentysomething perspective for the Knight Ridder Washington Bureau
• Ozblog: Alan Bjerga, the Washington correspondent for the Wichita Eagle
• Webb Blog: Tom Webb of the St. Paul Pioneer Press
• Ohioblog: A Swing State Journal: Steve Love for the Akron Beacon Journal
• Dave Barry’s Blog: It’s Dave Barry. What can you say?
Related: Knight Ridder blogs Democratic convention
RSS starting to attract $$$
August 31, 2004
Now that Technorati got $6.5 billion in VC funding, Feedster is expecting to get funding after Labor Day, Wired News reports. “As companies like Technorati, Feedster, NewsGator and others continue to grow and get funded, RSS seems ready to hit the mainstream in a serious way.”
And by the way, Wired News credited Om Malik for breaking the news on his blog. Kudos to both.
Convention bloggers aggregated
August 30, 2004
In addition to going directly to the more than two dozen blogs covering the convention listed on CyberJournalist.net, here are three sites aggregating the bloggers’ convention coverage:
• ConventionBloggers.com
• Politics.Feedster.com
• Politics.Technorati.com
Denver Post, “New eyes on politics”
August 29, 2004
For commentary on and links to political blogs, go to www.cyberjournalist.net/cyberpolitics_blog/.
Mercury News writer discovers downside of asking readers’ opinions
August 28, 2004
Reader Fred Sandsmark writes in to point out that Mark Purdy of the San Jose Mercury News did an online poll asking his readers which Olympic Event he should cover. “I was hoping to avoid synchronized swimming at the 2004 Games. But then I had to deal with . . . you.
“…next time, could you do me a favor? Could you please vote triathlon?”
DNC gave Boston.com record traffic
August 27, 2004
Boston.com not only got one of the biggest traffic boosts of any site after the Democratic National Convention, but it hit record traffic, spokeswoman Kathy J. Park tells CyberJournalist.net. Photogalleries were an overwhelming favorite of users, representing a whopping 24 percent of traffic for the month. Wow.
Not only that, but the most popular gallery was the one of pictures of celebrities photographed around town and submitted by Boston.com readers. That gallery alone drove two million page views!
If there’s any doubt that there’s high demand for photos online and photo galleries are worth investing time and money in — particularly reader photo galleries — this should put that to rest.
Here are the details…
Potshots at the Boston DNC bloggers
August 26, 2004
Just like it did for the Democratic convention bloggers, The Wall Street Journal Online e-mailed questionnaires to some of those blogging the GOP convention, asking about their political views and blogging style.
Here’s a summary of what they said, though you can read it yourself, since this is one of the WSJ’s daily free stories.
“Some Republican convention bloggers also took shots at the Boston bloggers. Asked what they learned from Boston, some of the New York bloggers characterized the Boston coverage as self-absorbed and overly preoccupied with celebrity sightings. The Republican bloggers said they’d stay more focused on the issues and the convention itself — a chance they’ll get next week.”
Here’s CyberJournalist.net’s complete list of those blogging the GOP convention.
News sites’ 007s: Beat reporters
August 26, 2004
The primer, the FAQ and the timeline are terrific resources for online news consumers, Dan Froomkin says. They offer depth and context in a way that daily reporting can’t. Perhaps more importantly, they can reestablish the bond that once existed between newspapers and their readers. “Plunk a beat reporter down to make a list of the half-dozen things that interest them the most about their beat — and voila! — you’ve already got the outline of a great primer. They’ve already covered the events that make up the timelines. They’ve already asked the questions that make up the FAQs.”
ABC News Now looks to keep rolling
August 26, 2004
ABC News executives are optimistic that their experimental ABC News Now digital channel will keep going after the 14-week run through Election Day, Nov. 2. “I think the chances are very good,” ABC News senior vp Paul Slavin said. “I know that at ABC News, we have worked vigorously to try and find a way to do this that is affordable and works within the ABC News DNA, and we’re confident that we can do that.”