washingtonpost.com ‘Politics’ Section Expands Campaign Coverage with More Video, Newsmakers, On-the-Scene Reporting
Partnership with Jeff Jarvis Yields PrezVid.com Content on
the YouTube 2008 Presidential Campaign
WASHINGTON, May 1, 2007 —washingtonpost.com, the award-winning news and information Web site, today unveiled the latest enhancements in its ongoing expansion of the highly-trafficked “Politics” section, which provides the most comprehensive, up-to-the-minute reports on fast-changing political developments throughout the day and night. With increased video and more reporting from the campaigns, including the new “Campaign Tracker” with Presidential campaign event details and a new blog from Post reporters called “On the Campaign Trail,” washingtonpost.com aims to take readers deep inside races around the country as only the Web can.
“The new features make the site more dynamic—we are using our access to campaigns across the nation to take our readers directly to the scene with in-depth reporting in all forms,” said Jim Brady, Executive Editor, washingtonpost.com. “It is important we offer readers a unique blend of news and analysis, video, photos, databases and other interactive features as part of our comprehensive political coverage.”
The site also recently launched “PostTalk,” a bi-weekly program co-hosted by Chris Cillizza, washingtonpost.com political reporter and author of “The Fix,” and Washington Post chief political correspondent Dan Balz. The program features hard-hitting interviews with presidential candidates, congressional leaders, White House officials and other newsmakers.
"PostTalk" is produced at washingtonpost.com's new studio in Arlington, VA and marks the latest in a series of video initiatives designed to provide more in-depth and sophisticated coverage of the 2008 presidential and congressional campaigns. On alternate weeks, washingtonpost.com is offering a Webcast of "Story Conference," a roundtable discussion by Cillizza and other Post reporters about the latest developments on the campaign trail, at the White House and on Capitol Hill. This week, Washington Post vice president-at-large, Ben Bradlee, and Len Downie, executive editor of the Washington Post, will appear on “Story Conference” on May 1.
In addition, washingtonpost.com is announcing a relationship with video weblog PrezVid.com, the latest production from blogger and media critic Jeff Jarvis and partner Peter Hauck, to provide the site's “Politics” section with its coverage of the campaign through the eyes of YouTube and internet video.
"PrezVid has the unique opportunity to chronicle how internet video transforms politics in America from the very first moment," Jarvis said. "YouTube enables the candidates to talk to voters around the media at eye level, and it allows voters to talk back. One of the first initiatives we'll be making with washingtonpost.com is to invite voters to ask questions and invite candidates to answer. We are also making our own Internet shows criticizing the candidates' and voters' videos and interviewing the players in this new world."
Jarvis praised washingtonpost.com for inventing a new relationship with an independent news blog. "washingtonpost.com saw us covering this arena and found a way to incorporate our content while helping to support the coverage. This is an important experiment, showing how a news organization can expand by building a broader network of coverage through independent blogs."
The “Politics” section is also adding more tools to let readers draw their own conclusions about the campaigns. The first, entitled "Behind the Numbers," teases interesting or surprising data from political polls, campaign financial reports and washingtonpost.com’s unique congressional voting database. The new “Campaign Tracker” lets readers chart the course of presidential candidates throughout the country with up-to-date information on campaign events. Coming soon, the site will launch a database of stump speeches around the country, allowing readers to see what their candidates say, or don’t say.
Finally, washingtonpost.com recently launched a video version of “Washington Sketch,” veteran reporter Dana Milbank’s observational column on the political theater that occurs inside the Beltway. Equipped with small, high-quality digital camcorders, washingtonpost.com video journalists provide eye-grabbing video content that complements and adds new dimensions to the well-read column.
About washingtonpost.com
Washingtonpost.com is the award-winning news and information Web site of the Washington Post. It offers world-class journalism, a remarkable blend of traditional reporting, and innovative, multimedia content that provides an unmatched level of depth and texture to breaking stories as well as features, plus unique ways for reader to engage with the site, its capabilities and content.
One of four online properties published by Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, washingtonpost.com is the recipient of the first-ever Emmy for original video journalism online and has won numerous other awards, including an EPpy Award for Best Overall Newspaper-Affiliated Site, several Digital Edge Awards, a 2007 National Journalism Award for Web Reporting, National Press Photographers' Association Best of Photojournalism Award, and three consecutive Edward R. Murrow Awards for Overall Excellence for Non-Broadcast Affiliated Website, among others. According to the 2007 Project for Excellence in Journalism, washingtonpost.com is a "High Achiever" as an online news site, earning strong marks in terms of branding, content customization, multimedia and user participation.
For more information, please visit www.washingtonpost.com.
About Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive
Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive (WPNI) is the online publishing subsidiary of The Washington Post Company (NYSE:WPO). Its mission is to create truly interactive platforms that offer unmatched user experiences by developing editorial products with world-class reporting, multimedia features and award-winning content.
WPNI’s news and information sites, which include washingtonpost.com, Slate, Newsweek.com, BudgetTravelOnline and Sprig.com, inform and encourage conversation and debate while reaching millions of unique and active users each month. WPNI properties’ long lists of awards include the first-ever Emmy for original video journalism online awarded to washingtonpost.com, as well as National Journalism Awards, Pictures of the Year International Award, several Digital Edge Awards, multiple Edward R. Murrow Awards and White House New Photographer's Association Awards, among others.
The company is headquartered in Arlington, VA
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