Off the wires today is a story on bloggers receiving credentials to the Democrat National Convention Quagmire in Boston at the end of this month. Amongst other problems the DNC has been facing, it appears even the giving of credentials to lib-bloggers had some hitches.
More than 30 independent Web journalists have been accredited to cover the Democratic convention, and the Republicans said Friday they’ll also credential so-called bloggers.
It’s the first time bloggers will be joining the thousands of newspaper, magazine and broadcast journalists at the quadrennial presidential-nomination events.
The Democrats initially invited an additional 20 bloggers to their July 26-29 party in Boston, but later rescinded those approvals and blamed a computer gaffe. That prompted complaints of unprofessionalism and favoritism.
Ouch. That has to hurt. Will the DNC get anything right?
Anticipating criticisms that decisions were ideologically based, Wilhide said only two of the 20 credentials rescinded were for “right-leaning” blogs. She pointed to the approval of at least one “right-leaning” blog, Oxblog, though the co-founder who applied, Patrick Belton, is a registered Democrat who considers himself centrist.
Blogs For Bush, on the other hand, will not be in attendance at the DNC, for I received my rejection letter in the mail earlier this week. Certainly no computer glitch. One could only assume the DNC wasn’t going to bend over backwards to allow a blogger from “Blogs For Bush” to receive coveted credentials to their convention.
No worries – I have other plans for the convention in Boston.
One blogger, Bill Ardolino, received an approval letter in the mail Tuesday, only to be disinvited via e-mail the next day, and is now out nearly $1,000 for hotel and travel he arranged after receiving the first letter.
Ardolino, 28, runs INDC Journal from Washington, D.C., and acknowledges he’s an “outspoken critic” of Democratic nominee John Kerry.
“I certainly have the suspicion that it’s because of the nature of my site,” Ardolino said. “The whole thing is unprofessional. They’ve really messed up what could have generated a lot of good will in the blogosphere.”
Wilhide would not release a full list of the approved bloggers, but said they included the Democratic-leaning Burnt Orange Report, Daily Kos, Pandagon.net and TalkLeft. Jerome Armstrong of MyDD.com also confirmed to The Associated Press that he had been accepted.
Bloggers will have the same access as traditional journalists within the FleetCenter convention hall, Wilhide said. And bloggers will join radio journalists with workspace in the FleetCenter itself, while other media will be in nearby buildings, she said.
Democrats also will host a breakfast for bloggers on opening day.
I wouldn’t have wanted to spend a breakfast with Markos Moulitsas (“Kos”) anyways.
At least their first ones to recognize bloggers in that way.
Well considering their convention is 5 weeks earlier than the Republicans convention, that was inevitable.
Nevertheless, I don’t think the recognition of bloggers is anything that makes either party superior. It was certainly inevitable. But the Democrats offering credentials to lib-bloggers doesn’t make their party wonderful.
If anything, this only furthers the long held belief and fact that the Democrats are in bed with
liberaltraditional media outlets, and are now willing only to embrace leftie bloggers.ok, the media isn’t liberal. They just know what sells and use it to their advantage.