by Nisha Chittal, Staff Writer
When politics and the media meet, it can only get interesting. This week saw the beginning of the YearlyKos netroots convention, organized by the liberal political blog DailyKos, that has brought together hundreds of liberal bloggers, journalists, political insiders, and some of the Democratic presidential candidates themselves.
The convention, hosted in Chicago, lasts through the weekend and has over 1500 registered attendees. One of the expected highlights of the conference is the Democratic presidential candidates forum on Saturday, which will include several of the Democratic candidates: Clinton, Edwards, Obama, Richardson, Dodd, Kucinich, and Gravel, reports the Chicago Tribune. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will also be in attendance at the conference.
The conference will also feature political speeches, workshops, and panel discussions, including one called "Outfoxing Fox," in reference to the television news channel Fox. This is the second annual YearlyKos conference. The first was held last year in Las Vegas.
Four Democratic candidates, Edwards, Clinton, Obama, and Richardson, all had booths at the conference to promote their campaigns. Markos Moulitsas, the founder of the popular left-leaning DailyKos blog from which YearlyKos originated, explained why bloggers have attracted so much attention from the candidates: "We provide bodies. We provide troops on the ground. It is a more activist audience." DailyKos is one of the most popular and widely read political blogs on the internet, and the vast majority of its fans and readers are Democrats.
Indeed, bloggers will have considerable clout in the 2008 elections as the "netroots" - Internet and grassroots - movement grows. All of the leading candidates have adapted their campaign strategies to reflect this new change and have aggressive internet strategies. John Edwards, for example, has hired for his campaign staff Joe Trippi, the same internet evangelist who managed Howard Dean's campaign in 2004, which was widely regarded as the first campaign to successfully use the Internet and blogs as a marketing tool. Clinton and Obama have also used the internet extensively.
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Why the liberal slant nisha?
This article titled "Candidates Court Bloggers at YearlyKos Event"
Should read "Democrates Court Liberal Bloggers at left-leaning YearlyKos Event"
Down the Middle News my rear-end!
ToTheCenter.com's philosophy is simple. The average person doesn't have a political left or right, but really feels somewhere in the middle. We try to keep our news “down the middle” and our opinions for all.
Further you highlight the specific target as being the Fox News channel.
No mention is made of the left-leaning DailyKos politics [accurate reporting would nisha]
DailyKos [From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia] is an American political blog, publishing news and opinion from a liberal, progressive point of view. It also acts as a discussion forum and group blog for a variety of netroots activists, whose efforts are primarily directed toward influencing and strengthening the Democratic Party. Additionally, the site features a growing political encyclopedia, glossaries, and other permanent content.
Daily Kos was founded by Markos Moulitsas Zúniga (Kos from the last syllable of his first name) in 2002. In 2007 parent company Kos Media, LLC began a fellowship program to help fund a new generation of liberal activists. About a dozen contributing editors contribute content for the site, with 3-4 new editors being chosen from the Daily Kos community every year.
Back to the middle!