New Political Site Provides Magazine-Style Focus on In-Depth Original Reporting and Analysis
Site Led by Editor-in-Chief Melinda Henneberger and Featuring Team of Other Top-Tier Political Journalists
NEW YORK – AOL’s MediaGlow, http://www.mediaglow.com, launched PoliticsDaily.com, http://www.politicsdaily.com, which features top-tier political writers and provides in-depth and informed reporting, analysis and opinion of the U.S. political landscape. The site is led by former New York Times Washington correspondent Melinda Henneberger, who serves as Editor in Chief. PoliticsDaily.com is different from other political sites by way of focusing on original reporting, regular fact checking of stories, and long-lead reporting and writing in a one-stop-shop for political arguments across the spectrum. PoliticsDaily is part of the AOL News network, http://news.aol.com, which receives more than 27 million unique visitors every month, according to March 2009 comScore Media Metrix.
The site features a mix of political views, as well as reporting and analysis of key political issues of the day. The stories are thought out well in advance, not just focused on the minute-to-minute news cycle. As the public increasingly turns to the Internet for political news and information, PoliticsDaily.com delivers information across the political spectrum and across various demographics and voting blocks through regular features and sections. According to a recent report from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 74% of Internet users, representing 55% of the entire adult population, went online in 2008 to get involved in the political process or to get news and information about the presidential election.
“As the political world has increasingly moved online, voters need a resource to help put the events of the moment in perspective in an intelligent and concise manner. We looked at the current political media landscape and felt there was a need to deliver old-school political journalism in a sustainable format,” said Marty Moe, Senior Vice President, MediaGlow. “We have created a site that we hope is appealing and useful to mainstream audiences across various demographics and political views by offering an engaging and informative forum to give the public a chance to participate in and share in political discourse.”
“PoliticsDaily aims to build a relationship with readers across the political spectrum by bringing voices with differing views together in one place to create a real dialogue — the sort that is not going on in a lot of other places, online or off,” said Henneberger. “We want to distinguish ourselves with plain, old-fashioned, high-quality reporting and writing — counter-programming, in other words, against the conventional wisdom that accuracy is irrelevant and journalistic values are about as quaint as the Geneva Conventions, circa 2005.”
In addition to Henneberger, PoliticsDaily features a number of other well-known and respected journalists including:
* Walter Shapiro, former columnist for USA Today and former Washington bureau chief for Salon;
* Jill Lawrence, former national political correspondent for USA Today and columnist for the Associated Press;
* Carl Cannon, previously Washington bureau chief for Reader’s Digest and White House correspondent for the National Journal and the Baltimore Sun;
* Lynn Sweet, blogger and Washington Bureau Chief of the Chicago Sun-Times, as well as a regular guest on MSNBC, CNN and FOX;
* Patricia Murphy, founder of Citizen Jane Politics, a non-partisan website for women.
Along with daily columns and feature articles leading the site, there are also special sections highlighting various communities and issues, including:
* Woman Up: A daily blog with an ongoing conversation among a group of female writers from a plurality of viewpoints. They will cover political issues from a woman’s perspective;
* The Cram: In association with MTVu, this student blog gives voice to the rising leaders of America, offering a youthful perspective on the major issues of the day;
* The Capitolist: This column features breaking gossip from the Hill and around the political arena;
* The Daily FLOTUS: A daily blog written by Lynn Sweet, focusing on Michelle Obama and news pertaining to the First Lady;
* Obama Report Card: This feature allows users to award President Obama a letter grade on hot topics, with guest graders providing expert analysis;
* Weekend Film: A free online political documentary every weekend, courtesy of Snag Films, http://www.snagflims.com.
AOL announced the formation of MediaGlow in January, centralizing AOL’s publishing efforts with the goal of expanding AOL’s efforts to reach targeted audiences and expanding AOL’s global reach. The launch of PoliticsDaily.com joins the expanding AOL News network, and is part of the overall MediaGlow strategy to launch 30 new sites this year.
About MediaGlow
MediaGlow, AOL’s publishing business unit formed in early 2009, centralizes AOL’s programming efforts, including AOL.com, AOL’s content verticals and commerce and marketplace channels, dozens of niche sites, and state-of-the-art studios in Los Angeles and New York City. In all, MediaGlow operates more than 70 sites and attracts more than 67 million unique visitors each month, according to comScore Media Metrix. It plans to launch more than 30 new sites in 2009. MediaGlow, along with AOL’s advertising business, Platform-A, and its social media business, People Networks, represent the three core businesses for AOL.
About AOL
AOL is a global Web services company that operates some of the most popular Web destinations, offers a comprehensive suite of free software and services runs one of the largest Internet access businesses in the U.S., and provides a full set of advertising solutions. A majority-owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc., AOL LLC and its subsidiaries have operations in the U.S., Europe, Canada and Asia. Learn more at AOL.com.
