LJWorld.com / Hays-based blog chosen to represent Kansas at Democratic National Convention

Archive for Sunday, May 18, 2008

May 18, 2008

EverydayCitizen.com was created in Hays, but the Web site offers blogs on just about every issue on the planet.

Now, a team of writers featured on the Web site will travel to the Democratic National Convention as official Kansas bloggers for the party.

Pam Pohly, editor and publisher of EverydayCitizen.com, said Thursday the power of political blogs on the Internet is on the rise.

"It's a force to be reckoned with," said Pohly, who lives in Hays.

"As the Internet grows and number of bloggers grows, politicians and elected officials do take a pulse of what people are saying on the blogs, and, to the extent that they can determine there is a theme or overriding set of opinions, they will have to respond," she said.

The Democratic National Convention Committee selected EverydayCitizen.com as the only Kansas blog to receive press privileges and access at the party's convention Aug. 25-28 in Denver. The writers will be seated with the Kansas delegation and produce stories for the Web site.

More than 400 applications were received to become part of the DemConvention State Blogger Corps. Each state was assigned an official blog by the party.

"The Internet has played a critical role in connecting Americans to elected officials and candidates seeking office," said DNC Chairman Howard Dean.

Pohly - upset with the direction of the country - designed and developed EverydayCitizen.com in 2007 to provide greater access to ordinary citizens.

The Web site features approximately 65 writers, about half of whom are from Kansas, she said. The group going to the convention will include seven Kansans, two writers from Washington, D.C., and a Texan, she said.

"The people who write for EverydayCitizen, they are their own people and write from their own perspectives. I expect to have some pretty smart remarks about who is doing what," she said.