A political/journalism hybrid

Politics and journalism are merging in an all new way on Politicker.com -- creating jobs and changing reporting.

Politicker is a hub of political Web sites -- one for each state. Currently, 11 state Web sites are and all 50 should be up by the end of 2009. Jared Kushner, the publisher of the site, told the New York Times:

Each site will serve as an intensely local source for political articles, speculation and scandal. (Full article here).

Politicker is directed towards political-junkies and its slogan is "Inside Politics for Political Insiders." It was created based on the New Jersey political Web site, PoliticsNJ.com, which has now become a part of Politicker as PolitickerNJ.

The most interesting part about Politicker is the opportunities it currently has and will continue to have for young journalist. These days, the sites managing editor, James Pindell, sends recent graduates out to a state capital with "little more than a laptop and a BlackBerry" and has them create the state site.

According to the Times article, once all 50 state sites are up, each site will have one or two reporters, an editor and several bloggers employed to keep it running.

In addition:

The editors — who will remain anonymous, and will include lawyers, lobbyists and former officeholders — are the “secret sauce.”

Kushner told the Times that the sites themselves would not have any political affiliation, but then why will they have these connections? While I understand the necessity of having insiders working for the site in order to get inside information, it seems like a basic conflict of interest. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out.

In general I think it's a very smart idea to have this political hub. If it is successful, it will not only be an extremely useful tool for journalists but it will also be a great opportunity for journalists who want to write about politics.

Want to be famous? Start a blog.

These days, blogging is becoming an increasingly successful business and bloggers themselves are getting more and more recognition. (Check out this post I came across on Journerdism about the potential need for a blogger union).

The wonderful thing about blogs is anyone can have one. (Some people argue that this is the horrible thing about blogs but that's neither here nor there).

Regardless, how do you go from being a 21-year-old college student obsessed with pets -- and the occasional new media -- to being a blogging celebrity, a la Perez Hilton? (Pictured right).

According to this New York Times story, there are several steps one must take including keeping a regular posting rhythm and creating a brand name. All these suggestions were compiled from successful bloggers.

The article is a fun and interesting read especially for those bloggers who want to make a name for themselves.

Maybe one day Pause will be the new blog.

The image above is by Toby Forage (cc) and republished here under a Creative Commons license. Some rights reserved.

Welcome to the neighborhood

9Neighbors is a site where Boston area residents can share stories, images and videos from other media outlets as well as their own blogs and Flickr accounts.

Members can create profiles, upload images, make friends with other people in their neighborhood and follow a friend, which means they can see what someone finds interesting on the site.

The site launched Sept. 28, 2007 and Rick Burnes, the creator, describes it as the "new local news filtering service" on the site's blog, The 9th Neighbor. 9Neighbors is part of Faneuil Media, which builds online news services.

The 9th Neighbor blog gives information on the internal workings of the site and also directs readers to certain projects. For example, this March 1 post links to a Google map mash-up of potholes in the area. What makes this even more interesting and entertaining is that readers can contribute to the map, adding pothole locations, pictures and descriptions. A simple idea but one that could be useful for drivers, bikers and pedestrians.

Apparently the top stream on 9Neighbors is the MBTA, but I can't figure out for sure if it is the top stream of the day, week or just in general.

I think it is a day-to-day thing and with today being St. Patrick's Day this makes sense as the holiday causes havoc on all lines, especially those that lead drunk college students back to their campuses.

In general the 9Neighbors site does still seem a bit bare. However it has potential because it combines a variety of new technologies like social networking and blogging with the basic desire to know what is going on in your backyard.

A brief FYI

I read about this on Journerdism and thought it was pretty cool.

Alltop is a Web site that compiles several sites and blogs about a certain topic into one web page. It basically is a summary of the top stories of the day for that particular subject -- sort of like a RSS feed without a subscription.

It's a great resource tool and covers a large range of topics from celebrities to non-profit organizations to extreme sports. There's also one for journalism.

I think one of Alltop's greatest assets is it leads you to Web sites and blogs you may not have heard about otherwise.

I recommend checking it out.