McLaughlins to report live from the 2008 National Republican Convention 

by Karin L. Nauber

Mayor Nathan McLaughlin and his wife Belene have received the special privilege of receiving press passes for all four days of the 2008 National Republican Convention which will be held at the XCEL Energy Center in the Twin Cities. They will be there September 1 through 4.

I corresponded with Nathan recently. He stated that they will ìbring [us] all of the behind the scenes buzz, interviews and news.  Our link will be a part of Reuters News Service (others to be announced soon) and disseminated across the world live.î

The McLaughlins hope to make all of their blog posts relevant to the issues that are important to rural America.

ìWith some humor included free of charge,î he said.

For those of you who may not know, a blog is an online journal. It combines the two words ìwebî and ìlogî to form the new word ìblog.î

 They will be posting pictures, interviews, and commentary about what they are seeing and hearing inside and outside (protests) the convention.  It is a chance to interview candidates face-to-face and major media figures from all over the nation.  They will also be attending a number of evening functions for the Mayorís Association and League of Minnesota Cities. 

 It is quite competitive to receive access to the convention, said McLaughlin. At the last convention, only a dozen writers/bloggers were allowed access.

McLaughlinís blog ìAmericaís Small City Mayorî was selected based on original content and readership distribution around Minnesota and nationally.  A blog has to be well read and distributed nationally so that enough people read it and return comments.  

The GOP and DEMS are about getting their messages out so they had to submit their site a year ago with all of its statistics.  

ìI could have gone to the Democrat Convention as well, but it was too expensive when this is just a hobby.,î he said.

The Americaís Small City Mayor blog has been ranked in the top ten for Minnesota on a number of web ranking sites over the course of many years. 

ìI do the blog to highlight and bring attention to Clarissa and rural areas of Minnesota. It gives me the platform to advocate with many of our state wide leaders that read my blog on a regular basis,î said McLaughlin.

ìSo why is blogging the GOP Convention important?î  

ìThe Republican and Democrat Conventions are generally closed to the general public because of the constraints on having enough room for delegates and media.  This only allows citizens to view the proceeding through traditional news and media outlets.  The allowance of bloggers can give unique insight for average citizens because we are average citizens reporting on what we are hearing and seeing,î he said

The convention is important according to McLaughlin because, ìWe are selecting a person that could serve as the next leader of the free world.  It is also a chance for Minnesota to highlight ourselves as a great place to visit and do business.î

If you want to get a different perspective on the convention, you can log on to the Independent News Herald website. From there you will find a link to McLaughlinís blog where you can get up-to-date information about the convention from one of our own.

Be sure to watch this newspaper for a follow-up story upon their return from the convention.