RNC Throws Gates Open To Bloggers, Independent Media

More than 600 media representatives, photojournalists and bloggers from across the nation -- and, in some cases, around the world -- gathered at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on Monday to get the latest information on the Republican National Convention to be held in St. Paul in 2008. While little has changed from conventions of the last decade, event organizers say that bloggers and independent media will have a larger presence this year than ever before.

The Minneapolis-St. Paul 2008 Host Committee invited media from around the world for a walk-through of the RNC facilities and laid out some of the details of costs, as well as housing, equipment and transportation issues that media personnel will face in 2008. The majority of the evening's discussion focused on logistics for traditional broadcast and print media, but the topic of blogging came up several times.

"We are going to welcome the blogging community. We need the bloggers and the independent media on board," said Mike Duncan, chairman of the RNC. After taking a few shots at Democratic candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton, Duncan pointed to the large success that the GOP is experiencing through the use of social networking sites such as Facebook.com and through blogs.

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