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« Thanks, Al | Main | Talking Points Memo » March 5, 2007"Blogger Day" at Legislative Plaza
Deadline to RSVP is March 19. Details on the invite. I'll be RSVP'ing though it's rather iffy that I'll actually be able to make it. A suggestion to the bloggers who do go: Organize. Find out as much as possible in advance what committees and subcommittees are meeting, when, and what bills are on their agenda. And then divide up coverage, with bloggers assigned to as many committee meetings as possible. Read the legislation summaries in advance and know what the bills are about, and blanket the committee meetings and blog them in real time, with links to legislation that's discussed and voted on. Don't just cover the one or two bills that the mainstream news media will cover that day - cover it all, or at least as much of it as possible, even in brief. And whatever you do, don't blog about how cool it is to meet other bloggers, and how Rep. Mumpower is different than you thought he'd be. At least not until the next day. Posted in Tennessee Government News
Comments
Darn! I wish it were held on a Thursday & Friday, I could make it... Posted by: Whitehorse at March 5, 2007 11:57 PMBill, I hope this will encourage local bloggers (besides you and me and maybe 2 others) to know what is going on in our State Government and report on it accurately. Posted by: Sharon Cobb at March 6, 2007 12:26 AM"And whatever you do, don't blog about how cool it is to meet other bloggers, and how Rep. Mumpower is different than you thought he'd be. At least not until the next day." I disagree wholeheartedly. Bloggers, you write about whatever you want to write about. Donuts, meetings, impressions, whatever. You have no editor. Use that to your advantage. Talk about elements of the day that are personal to you. Write about your interpersonal experiences. Don't kowtow to what online magazine writers think you should say. Make your post your own. Rules are made to be broken. Cover your government in new and interesting ways and you'll see more readers than you ever imagined. Your personal voice is what makes most blogging great. Stale and boring Hill reporting is best left to the professionals. Skip Bill's unsolicited advice and take mine instead. ;) Do what feels right. Posted by: brittney at March 6, 2007 7:32 AM"And whatever you do, don't blog about how cool it is to meet other bloggers, and how Rep. Mumpower is different than you thought he'd be. At least not until the next day." Whyever not? Isn't the purpose of this invitation in part to make the legislative process seem more tangible and accessible to the public? Wouldn't such comments buttress any dry details with a level of versimillitude for the readers? I'm a colour-commentary writer. That's the stuff of my business. People don't read me for procedural detail. They read me to know my opinion of what it's like to BE THERE. In other words, you can be Josephus. I'll be Pepys' Diary. There's room for both types of writing in literature, and room for both types in coverage of this event. Posted by: Katherine Coble at March 6, 2007 8:36 AM...or follow the advice of the two bloggers above me. :-) Posted by: Bill Hobbs at March 6, 2007 10:18 AMPost a comment
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The Tennessee House Republican Caucus is inviting all Tennessee political bloggers to a caucus-sponsored "Blogger Day On The Hill" at Legislative Plaza in Nashville on March 26th and 27th (Yes, Blogger Day On The Hill" is spread over two days, the way Hecht's department store used to have Saturday "one-day sales" with a preview day Friday.) The event, hosted by House Minority Leader Jason Mumpower and organized by the House GOP caucus' press secretary Kara Watkins, is indeed open to all Tennessee bloggers regardless of political affiliation. I have uploaded a PDF of 