Revitalizing State and Local Blogging
Session Type(s): Panel
Training Tag(s): Local, Media / Journalism / Blogging
Starts: Saturday, Jun. 9 3:00 PM (Eastern)
Ends: Saturday, Jun. 9 4:15 PM (Eastern)
Since the historic 2006 and 2008 election cycles, state and local blogospheres all around the country have been fragmenting and decaying to the detriment of the progressive movement. This panel will examine the challenges that surviving blogs face; discuss short-term projects that would help state and local bloggers strengthen their audience, reach and income through the rest of the 2012 cycle; and explore what can be done to sustain the Netroots community at the state and regional level long-term.
Moderator
Andrew Villeneuve
Andrew Villeneuve is the founder of the Northwest Progressive Institute and its sibling, the Northwest Progressive Foundation. He serves in leadership roles in both organizations. NPI, founded in 2003, has an advocacy focus, powered by research, whereas NPF, formed in 2018, has an educational focus. NPI is organized as a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization; NPF is organized as a 501(c)(3) charity.
Andrew has worked to advance progressive causes for over two decades as a strategist, speaker, author, and organizer. He is also a cybersecurity expert, veteran facilitator, a delegate to the Washington State Democratic Central Committee, and a member of the Climate Reality Leadership Corps.
In recent years, besides leading NPI, Andrew has served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 2012 for Barack Obama, an organizing fellow for the Progressive Change Campaign Committee in 2013, and a delegate to the 2016 Democratic National Convention for Bernie Sanders.
Panelists
Kari Chisholm
Kari Chisholm, president of Mandate Media, is an experienced campaign staffer, media strategist, political consultant, and interactive web developer. Over the last decade, Kari has worked with nearly 200 campaigns in over 20 states at every level.
In addition to his work as an internet strategist for campaigns across the country, he runs the award-winning state blog, BlueOregon.com. He is also the founder of the nationally recognized progressive blog aggregator, LeftyBlogs..com
Phillip Martin
Phillip Martin has worked in Texas politics for ten years. Most recently, he served as Policy Director for the Texas Legislative Study Group. Phillip led a team of ten policy analysts in evaluating every bill that came to the floor of the Texas House and completing projects such as Texas on the Brink. Over the last six years, Phillip has also been a writer and contributor for the popular Texas political blog, Burnt Orange Report. Phillip attended the University of Texas at Austin and got his Master’s in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School.
Laura Packard
Laura Packard is a digital/new media and communications strategist, health care advocate, and small business owner in Denver. She is a stage 4 cancer survivor, founder of Health Care Voices, a non-profit organizing adults with serious medical conditions, executive director of Health Care Voter, and serves as an advisor to Unrig Our Economy. Laura also serves on the board of Blue Digital Exchange, a trade association of progressive digital consultants and staffers.
Laura has been blocked by President Trump on Twitter, thrown out of her (former) U.S. Senator’s town hall for asking him about his health care record, and reached millions of people online across the country with her story while fighting to protect our health care.
Bob Plain
Bob Plain is the editor/publisher of RIFuture.org, since 2005 the best place on the web or otherwise to find news and commentary about the issues that matter most to progressives in Rhode Island. He took over the site earlier this year after parting ways with the mainstream media.
Angelica Rubio
Angelica is a political junkie and blogger at www.rubiodispatch.com. She is also currently in the process of finalizing a 501c3 application for her organization, Center for Advocacy Rights and Engagement (CARE) in rural New Mexico. She is also a freelance writer and was recently published in the journal of North American Congress on Latin America, providing insight on the media’s negative use of the term “illegal” in the ongoing immigration debate.