Jack & Jill Politics

JJP is thrilled to be heading to Denver to cover the Democratic National Convention. My grandfather went to the 1968 Republican Convention as a delegate. For him, the Republican party was then still the party that freed his father from slavery. 40 years later, times have changed and I’m representing my black family and yours in a different capacity with a different party affiliation.

I agree with Francis Holland who says of black bloggers:

There is great New York Times coverage of the AfroSpear’s Pam’s House Blend’s preparations to participate in the Democratic National Convention. It’ll certainly drive a lot of hits to her blog and increase the profile of Pam, the AfroSpear and the afrosphere. This shows how important it is to us, as Black blogs generally, that Black blogs be included in the Convention blogging.

Pam says:

The article, “The Year of the Political Blogger Has Arrived,” is about bloggers and the 2008 Democratic National Convention, focusing on some of the logistical and financial hurdles faced by bloggers to cover the event. She also spoke with the DNCC about the challenges of including new media/citizen journalists as members of the credentialed media.

Other bloggers are interviewed, including Phillip Anderson from The Albany Project and John Odum of Green Mountain Daily.

Here’s an excerpt from the article:

This year, both parties understand the need to have greater numbers of bloggers attend. While many Americans may watch only prime-time television broadcasts of the convention speeches, party officials also recognize the ability of bloggers to deliver minute-by-minute coverage of each day’s events to a niche online audience.

“The goal is to bring down the walls of the convention and invite in an audience that’s as large as possible,” said Aaron Myers, the director of online communications for the Democratic National Convention Committee. “Credentialing more bloggers opens up all sorts of new audiences.”

But some bloggers see the procurement of credentials as less of a privilege and more of a right, in recognition of their grass-roots influence. “This is stuff we deserve — we helped the party get people elected,” said Matt Stoller, a political consultant and a contributor to the blog Open Left, who worked as the volunteer in charge of getting credentials for bloggers at the Democratic convention four years ago. “Maybe in 2004 it was about being accommodating and innovative — but this time around there’s a real fight for power in the party.” The major political parties first gave credentials to bloggers in 2004. The Republicans allowed a dozen bloggers to attend their convention in New York, while the Democrats gave bloggers 35 seats in the nosebleed section of the Fleet Center in Boston.