Bloggers get credentials, report from media center

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By Karen Goldberg Goff

DENVER | A mere four years ago, just three dozen bloggers were allowed access to the Democratic National Convention, relegated to a spare corner with a couple of card tables to call their work space.

Times have changed.

At the 2008 convention here, several hundred bloggers have a two-story media center, parties to attend and their own panel discussions, including "Who's Driving Whom?: The Blogosphere vs. the Mainstream Media."

That's a good question. Never have so many members of the nontraditional media gathered to observe, criticize, upload video, air audio and have their voices heard in cyberspace. And because the mainstream media have gotten into the blogging act within the past four years, the line between a blogger and a reporter can be a fuzzy one.

"Traditional media and new media have blurred boundaries," said Robert Cox, president of the Media Bloggers Association. "The future logical conclusion is that it will be one big thing."

For now, the biggest differences are the perspectives and the story length, said Joseph Graf, an assistant professor of communications at American University who studies blogs and politics. Bloggers who captain their own sites tend to report from a particular perspective, be it liberal, conservative or gender politics. Posts may be much shorter than typical newspaper stories, but they also are more likely to be passionate or inspire readers to take political action.

"Bloggers have an important role," Mr. Graf said. "In some cases, major media have co-opted blogging. But bloggers for mainstream media sites don't bring the attitude of independent bloggers."

Clearly, the corporate and political worlds are recognizing the power of the blogger. The Democratic convention has credentialed 120 bloggers for regular media access at the convention. More than 3,000 applied for 500 spots in the Big Tent, the 8,000-square-foot blogger media center constructed in Denver's lower downtown for the convention. About 200 bloggers will attend next week's Republican National Convention.

The Big Tent is sponsored by sites Google and Digg as well as the liberal blog Daily Kos (www.dailykos.com). Bloggers pay $100 for access to the tent, which features food and beverages, massages and comfy couches.

Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas said the amenities in the Big Tent are part of the collaborative process. That collaborative process, in turn, is a key feature of the new media, in contrast to the competition that fuels traditional journalistic outlets.

"It is all about collaboration on causes we care about that is driving politics today," Mr. Moulitsas said. "[Bloggers] are not spectators. We're not being fed information. We are sharing our thoughts on what is happening."

Daily Kos gets millions of visitors a month, making it more popular than many traditional media Web sites. Mr. Moulitsas said he is not trying to be the source for news, but rather trying to spark traditional journalists to do a better job.

Blogs such as Daily Kos and Arianna Huffington's Huffington Post are clearly moneymakers, but the issue has been raised this political season over just what qualifies someone as a blogger. With free software and a digital camera, almost anyone can call himself one.

Convention organizers, as well as the Big Tent people, had to sift through many applications to decide who was eligible for credentials. The convention offered national credentials as well as the chance for one blogger from each state to be embedded with his state's delegation. Among the bloggers here: Blue Jersey (www.bluejersey.com), Crooks and Liars (www.crook sandliars.com), Pam's House Blend (www.pamshouse blend.com) and Culture Kitchen (www.culturekitchen.com).

"This is really about tearing down the walls of the convention so that ordinary people can see inside through the eyes of an ordinary person, and it's also about a two-way campaign. We think listening to voters is more important than talking to them. We want to hear from voters through the bloggers," Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said when the state credentials were issued.

Still, a backlash ensued as many other bloggers protested being shut out. They claimed the convention's organizers were selecting bloggers they thought could best promote the interests of the party.

"If you ask a member of the mainstream media and you ask a blogger why they are there, you are going to get a different answer," Mr. Cox said. "A lot of bloggers say, 'I am just a person; I have my views.'"

For some excluded bloggers, those views will be coming to their readers from nowhere near the Big Tent, the Pepsi Center (site of the convention) or swanky donor parties. Funded by $5 donations to their blogs, they have descended on Denver for a low-budget, high-tech experience.

"They are saying: 'There are good stories right there on the street,'" Mr. Cox said.