The grass-roots, non-traditional media bloggers from across the country vying for credentials to cover the 2008 Democratic National Convention will have the chance to report while seated with their respective delegations, the Democratic National Convention Committee announced today.
The Democrats are expanding the number of independent bloggers to receive the coveted passes into the convention hall in 2008. Less than 40 of these bloggers were credentialed in 2004. This year, The DNCC will award one credential to a local blogger from each of the state delegations and those delegations representing the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, Guam and Democrats abroad.
The expansion comes under the heading “State Blogger Corps.” It is meant to recognize local bloggers and to work within Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean’s so-called 50-state strategy to win Democratic voters. The DNCC’s statement says the credentials will go to bloggers with a state and local political focus.
Many more will be blogging during the convention, the DNCC points out. Mainstream news organizations offer blogs — it’s not unusual, and is becoming the norm, for reporters to also contribute to blogs — and many of the 6,000 delegates and alternates also blog.
Because of the party’s penalizing of Michigan and Florida for breaking primary rules, it remains unclear whether those states will be seated during convention week Aug. 25-28, but the DNCC is to credential a local blogger from each of those states, a party spokeswoman said.
The deadline for bloggers to apply for credentials ends April 15. Applicants must have been blogging for six months and have at least 120 politically-related posts. For more information: -credentialing-process/
Chuck Plunkett: 303-954-1333 or cplunkett@denverpost.com
