Outside the Beltway

Pajamas Media Hits the Mainstream Media

James Joyner · Tuesday, May 3, 2005 · 4 comments

In early February, I got an e-mail from Marc Danziger (aka “Armed Liberal”) inviting me to join an enterprise known as Pajamas Media. The details were sketchy but sounded interesting and it came with the backing of some people whose work I respect, so I signed on, including an agreement to keep it confidential. Last week, Roger L. Simon broke word on his blog. Now, the New York Sun has a big feature in today’s edition revealing the genesis and vision behind the project.

Three Political Web Logs Make a Run for the Mainstream (New York Sun)

The idea of Pajamas Media is to use an extensive network of globally affiliated blogs to provide first-person, in-depth coverage of most major news events, including both camera and video footage, Roger Simon said.

Using as an example the tsunami that swept through parts of Asia and Africa in January, Mr. Simon said bloggers managed to post hundreds of updates, first-person accounts, and video clips, often before major press organizations could deploy their staffs. With 162 affiliate blogs in dozens of different countries, according to Mr. Simon, the new venture will have the ability to get “in the middle of stories” that major news organizations can’t, “because our affiliates will have a physical proximity, language, and cultural knowledge that the Associated Press man will often lack.”

[…]

Mr. [Glenn] Reynolds [of InstaPundit.com] argued that the work of the blogger-reporters of Pajamas Media would improve the quality of reporting on major events. “Hopefully, reporters from larger organizations will use us as another resource to cite when they report on a big story,” he said. “We’re not a threat to their jobs, but we’ll make them do their jobs better since their will be another record out there.” From a practical perspective, he said, one of the goals of the founders, once financing is in place, is to get a handheld camcorder and a laptop notebook into the hands of all their affiliated bloggers.

The economics of launching what is in effect a global blog-based wire service is complex but not insurmountable, Mr. Simon said. “We have about seven different investment offers on the table right now,” he said, “so getting off the ground shouldn’t be a problem.” Syndicating advertisements through affiliated blogs so that advertisers reach a global network, according to LittleGreenFootball’s Mr. Johnson, will sustain the project.

It’s an exciting project that I’m eager to see get off the ground.

via Michelle Malkin

Update (1422): Kate McMillan has a related poll question.