Thank you for the Super Political Coverage

If you visited Associated Content on Election Day, you probably noticed that the home was page lit up with original political coverage from our Content Producers.

We had up-to-the minute coverage from many talented CPs who were filing updates throughout the day and evening of the election. It was an excellent showcase for Associated Content's depth, timeliness and commitment to providing a platform of unique perspective. And of course for the talents of our contributors!

Tim Skillern, AC's intrepid News Director, was responsible for much of the programming. Yesterday he published an article called "AC's 2008 Homepage Election Coverage: 36 Hours of Analysis, Reports, Predictions and Fun" to showcase the 9 Content Producers who made up Associated Content's homepage election coverage team. These folks wrote in 10 shifts starting early on Tuesday and wrapped up late on Wednesday. They covered all types of news, both national and local, and did a stellar job with the breadth and quality of their reporting.

Thank you CPs who contributed to AC's election coverage and thank you Tim for your tireless efforts! Get ready for the inauguration in January.

Associated Content's Political Haiku Idea Catches on

This may be a little far-fetched, but the political haiku meme has caught on and I'd like to think that Associated Content was right at the forefront of this particular trend. Content Producers will recall our haiku contest held at the end of September. Since the end of last month several more haiku collections have emerged online with mixed politics and mixed results.

Mark Ambinder wrote a few "mildly tasteless" poems on his blog on The Atlantic on October 29th.

People for the American Way had their own "McPalin Haiku Hysteria" contest and their winners don't hold a candle to ours.

Even the Sacramento Bee in California issued a call for political poetry. They posted their favorites on October 27th.

I think ours hold up well against all of these!

Cover the Election Locally at AC's Next Town Hall on Wednesday

This Wednesday, 10/22/08, at 8:00 pm EST, Associated Content's News Director Tim Skillern will be leading a Town Hall on "How to Cover an Election Locally."

Tim will be going over how to cover the 2008 election in your area. You'll learn tips on how to cover local and state issues as well as how to localize national campaigns. The Town Hall will cover interviews and source citation, so be sure not to miss it.

If you're interested in covering local news, but not necessarily politics, consider stopping by on Wednesday for Tim's valuable pointers on turning national news stories into engaging local ones.

Click here to sign up and learn more about Associated Content's Town Hall meetings.

Friday's Featured Content: Funny Political Videos

Happy Friday!
To whet your appetite for this weekend's Saturday Night Live, should Gov. Palin make her much-rumored appearance on the show are two videos about McCain's running mate.

The first is from funny man Matt Cohen, a new CP with a big crush on S.P. Pay close attention to the lyrics.

The second is another Greg Reese from Cincinnati installation. He's still building political bridges with this positive rap called "Sarah Palin Rap Song."

Think it'll be funny if Sarah Palin mocks Tina Fey this weekend?

Getting Through Tonight's Debate

If you're looking to make your viewing of tonight's debate a more interactive (and boozy) experience, CP Nancy Tracy created a "Sarah Palin Vice Presidential Debate Drinking Game."

Naturally, Associated Content and Nancy Tracy do not encourage excessive consumption of alcohol, this piece is satirical, but if you can get your hands on some Moosehead beer and want to give it a shot I'd love to hear how it goes.

No Biden version of this game exists on AC yet, can you get one written before tonight? Send it my way here on the AC Blog if you do.

Washington DC Metblogs also picked up on Nancy Tracy's AC article.

Friday's Featured Content: Palin Mania on Associated Content

Last night, ABC broadcast Sarah Palin's first post-VP nomination interview with Charlie Gibson. The Alaska governor has been at the center of a media frenzy since McCain selected her as his running mate and public interest shows no signs of waning.

In the two weeks the national spotlight focused on Palin at the RNC, at least 371 pieces of content have been published about her on Associated Content.

A wide range of topics are addressed: Saul Relative explores the phenomenon of Palintology and his editorial on hypothetical scandalous photos has been racking up page views. Jeffrey Moats discusses her looks; Nancy Tracy rounds up her many nicknames; Steven West penned a satirical poem about her; and Norm Schneider critiques her eyeglasses.

Serious pieces about Palin's candidacy from every side of the political spectrum abound. Check out "How Sarah Palin Saved the Republican Party" by Bruno Somerset, "The Business and Celebrity of American Politics" by Charles Dickey and Jon Hopwood's summary of her background in "What College Did Sarah Palin Graduate From...."

Several CPs with a taste for intrigue have outlined their conspiracy theories for AC readers. AC_Darnell, Shonda Delmage and Timothy Sexton think there's more to Palin's nomination than appears on the surface.

A few especially prescient CPs wrote about Sarah Palin days (or months) before the nomination, when she appeared to be little more than a long shot for VP. Sophia Levis wrote "Sarah Palin and John McCain?" in February. Darvio Morrow recommended her for the spot in May and Mark Whittington echoed those sentiments a mere 10 days before it became official.

Sarah Palin will undoubtedly continue to be a hot topic on AC for a while. The only question is whether it'll last for months or years.

New media presence at the DNC

The election will be in the air until November 4th, but one thing is already clear about this election cycle: new media is here to stay. Associated Content Producers, this means you! It is an exciting time to be a citizen journalist or a blogger, and it is certainly a hot topic among more traditional media types. From our own CPs who are creating content for us about the DNC (see Monday's AC blog entry), to the 500 people at Google's Big Tent, to MySpace's Decision08 and the Huffington Post's "Off the Bus" feature, new media is a force to be reckoned with. Markos Moulitsas, founder of Daily Kos, put it perfectly in an interview with the San Jose Mercury News when he said, "The bottom line is that people no longer want to be spectators. Technology allows us to essentially become participants."

New media, otherwise known as real people writing online with fresh viewpoints and compelling stories--without corporate agendas--are what we're all about at AC, and we think we've got the best of the bunch.

AC President Luke Beatty attended an interesting luncheon held by the HuffPo yesterday in Denver. Panelists Arianna Huffington, George Stephanopolous, Charlie Rose, Rahm Emanuel, and will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas (and others) discussed how new media is changing the game and interacting with traditional media. It was will.i.am who had the comment of the day (courtesy of FishbowlDC), "You want to make content that you can put in your pocket, not it throw away in a garbage can." As members of the new media our CPs are making relevant, versatile, mobile content every day and are changing the way consumers get their news and information. And, unlike many bloggers, they're profiting from their labor. Keep up the good work!