Blog Outreach Program
As part of the media department you will be responsible for representing Project Vote Smart through a variety of media outlets and forms. The newest media outreach program that we are instituting is our blog outreach program. Blogs have become a vital part of the national political debate. Project Vote Smart has a moral obligation to make sure that people who visit some of the blogs on the Internet are getting accurate information that is free from bias or political slant.
We have compiled a list of 40 blogs from a variety of political standpoints. You will be responsible for building and cultivating a relationship with the authors, editors or publishers from the blogs that you have been assigned. In order to be a reliable source in the eyes of these people as well as the readers of the blogs you must be known as an accurate and non-biased source of information.
Performing Blog Outreach
The basis of blog outreach is simply posting links to relevant information that can be found on our website. There is a lot of information on our website, so make sure that you are familiar with our site and how to access all of this information quickly.
The first thing you will do when performing outreach is simply to read the articles on the blogs you have been assigned. You will be responsible for building and cultivating a relationship with the authors, editors or publishers from the blogs that you have been assigned. In order to be a reliable source in the eyes of these people as well as the readers of the blogs you must be known as an accurate and non-biased source of information.
Once you have selected which articles that you are going to write about fill out the "Outline For A Blog Comment" for each comment you plan to leave. That document that can be found in the "07 Blog Program" folder on the Media Drive. Fill our all the information that is in BOLD , unless there is no relevant information (for example if a candidate didn't fill out the NPAT). Once you have filled out all of the necessary information on the document, create a folder for the day's date in your comments log in the "07 Blog Program" folder. Save each of the outlines for blog comments in that folder. Save each of the outlines for a blog comment as "Blog Name_Date_Your name."
Once you have completed this for each blog send Mike or Carolyn an e-mail (mikew@votesmart.org or Carolyn@votesmart.org) letting them know that you have completed this. They will then review the documents in your folder for that day. After they review the documents they will make any necessary corrections or let you know of any corrections that need to be made. You must have all of your blog outreach comments in your folder by 3pm so that Mike and Carolyn have enough time to review them all.
When Mike or Carolyn tell you that you can post your comments you will then copy all stuff that is below the solid black line on the outline. Paste this information into the comments area for the post. Once the comment is posted copy the link to the post, and paste it into an e-mail. Once you have pasted all of the links to all of the posts into an e-mail send that e-mail to Mike and Carolyn so they can review your comments.
Additional Notes
If you are not sure which candidates or elected officials should have information posted for a specific entry do not hesitate to ask Mike or Carolyn for their advice. It is extremely important that all the information that you post is accurate and relevant; so if you are unsure do not be afraid to ask.
While we have all of our interns here you will be responsible for monitoring 4 blogs, however as interns arrive and leave you will likely be assigned additional blogs to cover so that we can maintain this program. A list of the blogs that you will cover is attached to this document.
You're not required to post a comment on every single entry on each blog. However you are required to post information on all relevant blogs. Use your discretion to decide when a comment is necessary and when it is not.
Do not post anything unless Mike or Carolyn has approved it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Once again, you are the mouthpiece for Project Vote Smart. This is a very serious role. Anything you post will reflect on the organization, as it's official opinion. This is why you must not post anything that is partisan or biased.
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CategoryBlog
