Internet at Political Conventions
By LAURA MECKLER
01:38 AM ET 07/10/00
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - ``Honey,'' the woman nudges her husband at the
computer terminal. ``If you point the mouse over there we can see
Aunt Betty at the Republican convention.'' This, it seems, is the future of political viewing
- Internet style.
Or at least it's part of the future, a small slice of a very
large bandwidth that can transmit an endless stream of information
- even a 360-degree camera where users choose the viewing angle.
Coming this summer, the World Wide Web arrives at the political
conventions, with dozens of sites and hundreds of reporters
promising different coverage of the parties' parties. Some of it definitely is different. Much of it is a lot like TV
or newspapers, only online. Without question, it's voluminous.
As the TV networks scale back coverage of the Democratic and
Republican gatherings, new online sites are betting Americans
- at least a sizable chunk of them - want more, more, more. Television, the last medium to really change coverage of
conventions, arrived in 1948 at the Republican meeting in
Philadelphia, where the GOP is convening again from July 31-Aug. 3.
``It would be too pretentious to say the Internet is going to be
just as significant, but you know it could be,'' said David
Bohrman, who heads www.Pseudopolitics.com.
His Web site plans to place ``be-there'' cameras in the
convention halls in Philadelphia and Los Angeles, where the
Democrats are meeting. The cameras record a 360-degree shot, which
will be streamed live over the Internet. Users can decide what
angle they want to see at any given time, giving them a level of
control not possible while watching TV or reading a newspaper. Political Web sites are also touting their live chats, in which
people can post messages about what's happening and pose questions
to newsmakers. Some will let users point and click on sound and
video bites from speeches and interviews.
``The Internet is changing politics irrevocably and it's
changing journalism irrevocably,'' asserted Carl Bernstein,
executive editor of www.Voter.com. ``This will be an intersection where
you will see both.''
As networks and some mainstream reporters dismiss the
conventions as massive pep rallies with little or no real news, the
parties are paying plenty of attention to the cyber-coverage. In Philadelphia, online reporters will be grouped into an
``Internet Alley.'' In Los Angeles, Democrats have their own
``Internet Avenue.'' At both conventions, America Online and
Pseudopolitics.com will occupy skyboxes, with their names
prominently displayed next to the old-line networks around the rim
of the hall.
Aside from publicity, the skyboxes, which cost each organization
at least $20,000 per convention, give AOL and Pseudopolitics the
desired backdrop for their Web shows. These are just like TV shows,
with pundits and politicians chatting about the day's events, only
streamed over the Internet.
Four years ago _ a lifetime in the development of the World Wide
Web - Internet presence at the conventions consisted of a few
reporters in corners working off their laptops. AOL was initially
denied press credentials.
This year, the Democrats, who are meeting Aug. 14-17, expect
about 150 online organizations and up to 1,000 people working
online. The Republicans expect somewhat smaller but still
significant numbers. ``Internet Alley has gone from a speck on the map to a
10,000-square-foot space,'' said Tim Fitzpatrick, spokesman for the
Republican National Convention.
``In 1984, the satellite dish brought more local TV stations,''
said Mike Miller, the GOP convention's media coordinator. ``Then
cable brought more media. Now it's the Internet.'' The traditional media are adapting to the Internet as well, with
many newspapers and TV networks bringing online staff to run their
Web coverage. The Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times, for
example, will have political reporters discussing the news in a
forum to be beamed over their Web sites.
At the same time, some of the purely online reporting is not all
that different from what readers might find in a newspaper or
magazine. But unlike print publications, the sites will be updated
throughout the day.
``The political junkie is going to read about this stuff during
the day online at work rather than waiting till prime time and
watching it live,'' predicted Kerry Lauerman, Washington bureau
chief for Salon, an online magazine.
And Web sites, with their unlimited space, can give users more
information.
Kathleen deLaski, who is now running AOL's coverage, remembers
covering conventions for television.
``I would do a 'Good Morning America' spot and had time to give
five sentences about the convention,'' she said. ``That's no way to
give people an interesting experience.''
Associated Press Writer Jonathan Poet
contributed to this report.
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