New York Times Journalist Jennifer 8. Lee writes about bloggers receiving press credentials to cover the DNC in Boston and asks, Year of the Blog?. Her article begins:

Jeralyn Merritt had expected the news to come by e-mail rather than by snail mail, otherwise known as the United States Postal Service. But she had to rip, rather than click, to open the message informing her that she had received press credentials to cover the Democratic National Convention in Boston for her Internet Web log, or blog, at TalkLeft.com, where she offers a running commentary on political and criminal justice issues.

"A big smile broke out on my face and I just went 'Yeah!' " said Ms. Merritt, ... who works as a criminal defense lawyer in Denver. "It was someone who was judging me on the work that I was doing for free over the last two years and found me worthy,

Even as many networks are reducing their coverage of the increasingly predictable political conventions, the political blogs, which have become a fruitful alternative for individual voices, have been ablaze over the prospect of officially covering conventions for the first time. Ms. Merritt is one of about three dozen bloggers who have been given press credentials for the Democratic convention in Boston, which begins Monday. Another, Ana Marie Cox from the Washington gossip site Wonkette.com, will be working as a correspondent for MTV.

Please read the whole article and check out all of the blogs mentioned. Each of us has made a commitment to be part of the process, to contribute towards a more responsive government and to allow our readers to view the convention through an alternative lens. We may not be journalists, but we are definitely media. We tell it like we see it, without editorial overseers and without divided loyalties--each of us must be true only to ourselves.

I am particularly impressed with the younger bloggers--Ezra and Jesse of Pandagon (ages 20 and 21); and Patrick and David of Oxblog (in their 20's and Rhodes Scholars.) I'm awed by their savvy and intelligence. When I was their age, I was marching on Washington to protest the Vietnam War or in law school. I never would have had the discipline or ability to write and update a daily political blog with the acumen that they display.

We're hot today--in addition to the New York Times, I'm quoted in the Wall Street Journal (free article), the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times (and check out Kevin Drum's photo of the article not available online) and Newsday. And I just got here! (actually, I did all the interviews last week.)