US: New media makes an impact at political conventions

"Perhaps the more interesting question is whether indie bloggers and new media folks are now becoming a part of the mainstream at the same time the mainstream is reaching out and using the tactics of the independents," says Glaser.

Indie bloggers such as Sunlight Foundation's Party Time blog and Salon's Glenn Greenwald have done some of the "hardest-hitting" reporting. Furthermore, indie bloggers have managed to get prominent figures like Arianna Huffington, The Huffington Post founder, and Illinois Senator Dick Durbin to take part in panel discussions and interviews.

Even if new media may have a more substantial presence at the conventions and the total number of journalists has reached 15,000, Glaser points out that politicians can do more to feature audiences from outside the convention hall. The key point may be to form an interactive community based around the millions who are watching the event.

Micah Sefry, TechPresident blogger, says that although politicians are offering updates and information through Flickr and blogs, "in terms of making the actual events more engaging, they're probably spending more time worrying about the timing of the balloon drop"

Glaser gives his advice on what media outlets offer good coverage, mentioning that news aggregators are probably the best to start with. Here are some examples:

Aggregators:

> Perspctv
> Politweets

Independent Blogs:

> Wonkette
> Heritage Foundation's The Foundry

Major Media Blogs:
> New York Times' The Caucus
> Los Angeles Times' Top of the Ticket

Political sites:
> Politico
> CQ Politics

Twitter Feeds:
> GOPconvention
> dncjournalists
> rncjournalists

Source: Media Shift