While the site has been up-and-(apparently) down this evening, I thought I'd cruise the online MSM to see what the "reviews" are for the show.
This is by no means comprehensive and many of you have probably already found these. Just thought it might be helpful to pull a sampler together for folks who want a quick read.
First up (with a BOO! Hiss!) is
ABC News Online:
Politicians Court Bloggers in Vegas
Nearly pure RWNM:
Blogger Bryan Preston of the conservative blog HotAir.com said the blogging movement is for real, and politicians should take note.
"It probably will play a big role by hurting Democrats that try to move to the center," Preston said. "If you read the right-wing conservative blogs, well, they're all about ideas, whereas liberals do nothing but snipe and gripe at George W. Bush. They're all about power, winning the next election. Nothing else."
(snip)
Preston did not attend, but sent a spy to record the events. He said that if Democrats pay too close attention to the bloggers they will get dragged too far to the left and loose (sic) touch with voters.
"They go right over the top, and it's gotten so bad that the Center for American Progress is making a concerted effort to get them to tone it down," Preston said, referring to a think tank run by President Clinton's former chief of staff, John Podesta. "I do have to tip my hat to Kos for mustering so many troops like that, but in the end they'll hurt the Dems more than anything else."
The only other voice quoted for this piece of RWNM -bullshit- propaganda was Ana Marie Cox, now the "official blogger" for ABC News. She was funnier AND more preceptive when she was still drinking.
COX News Service:
Bloggers Let Moderate Democrats Speak
Very short wire-service blurb mentioning the attendance of Richardson, Vilsack and Clark, and featuring one-line quotes from Warner, Reid, Markos, Dean and Joe Trippi supporting the main thesis that "liberal bloggers" are becoming more pragmatic and starting to listen to the Centrists who know better.
Washington Post is the most thorough and accurate so far:
Bloggers Convention Draws Democrats (Dan Balz)
Best quote is from Tom Mattzie of MoveOn:
Tom Mattzie, Washington director of MoveOn.org, called the struggle inside the Democratic Party a "clash of civilizations" between an old order and a new order, but he also discounted those who view it purely in ideological terms. His group, he said, had polled the net-roots activist community. "What they want is not an ideological litmus test," he said. "They want Democrats to stand up and fight. They don't want Neville Chamberlain Democrats; they want Muhammad Ali Democrats."
I like that "Muhammed Ali Democrats" coinage.
LA Times:
Net-Savvy Democrats Aim to Pack a Digital Punch
A gathering of online liberals indicates they're evolving into a force within the party. (Ron Brownstein)
Fairly well-balanced, certainly respectful. Repeats the most-featured Markos quote:
"The media elite has failed us; the political elite, both parties, has failed us. Republicans have failed us because they can't govern; Democrats have failed us because they can't get elected," Moulitsas said. "So now it's our turn."
Also quotes Warner (EVERYbody is quoting Warner), Harry Reid and (!) Diane Masters:
'It's not just enough to call yourself a Democrat, you've got to walk the walk,' " said conference attendee Diane Masters, an emergency room physician from Freemont, Mich.
In quoting Diane, Brownstein makes an important point that seems overlooked in other coverage:
Masters, 61, typified one surprising element of the convention: Although the blogosphere is widely assumed to be the province of the young, much of the audience was middle-aged or older.
Moulitsas says survey research shows that the average age of his readers is 45.
Finally, Adam Nagourney did okay in the NYT online:
A Mixed Bag of First Impressions by Democrats at Blog Rendezvous
Mark R. Warner, the former governor of Virginia and potential Democratic presidential candidate, went before an unconventional political audience on Saturday, a bloggers' convention, . . . and offered a fairly conventional presentation: the introductory campaign video, a few jokes, and 30 minutes of biography, criticism of the Bush administration and views of government.
Howard Dean, the Democratic National Committee chairman, took a different approach, celebrating the bloggers as the future of American politics. "We have a whole new department at the D.N.C. - the Internet department," he said. "What they do is read you all day long so they know what's going on."
After that decent start, the rest is sort of ordinary until the final, revealing quotes from Warner:
In the interview, Mr. Warner left little doubt of the potential he sees with bloggers, saying, "You're watching what potentially could be a major part of the future of American politics taking place right here."
Asked if he thought some of his prospective rivals - like Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York - had made a mistake by not coming here (she cited a scheduling conflict), Mr. Warner paused before declining to answer. "Do I look like a fool?" he asked with a smile.
So - overall, it seems that YearlyKOS got noticed. Much of the MSM is still dismissive (if not outright hostile), but some may have come away with some new respect - perhaps even a "Spidey sense" tingle that something real is happening here.
.
.
UPDATE:
More TM yKOS coverage links < here> (newer diary).