Jpost.com counts about 2.5 million unique visitors per month, 60% of whom are US-based.

Last year JPost.com launched a series of Web 2.0 offerings, including a unique blog network, which gathers big names of the international Jewish community, such as former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The website also managed to get all US presidential candidates to contribute to the blog platform. Despite being very successful, the service was pulled down about a month ago in an attempt “to build up the tension,” says Orni, before resuming during or around the upcoming primaries.

Does this blog network only serve to voice political propaganda, or can newspapers derive editorial quality from this type of service?

According to Orni, there is clearly some added journalistic value, as JPost.com targeted the candidates with specific questions about controversial issues, such as their educational policies, or their stance towards Iran. So the politicians’ postings don’t merely serve as a platform for their campaign, but as a true place for debate.

“The bottom line is to drive traffic though,” says Orni.

Not only does the blog network drive traffic, it can also be used as content in the print edition. Relevant postings can be recycled in many ways, explains JPost.com Managing Editor Shani Rosenfelder. Quotes can be isolated and expanded into a news story, but some postings can also appear in full in the print edition, typically in the op-ed section.

The Jerusalem Post’s blog network is very similar to the Mail & Guardian’s Thought Leader, South Africa, which was launched in August.

Go To JPost.com’s Blog Central here.

Source: Amir Orni, CEO JPost.com