Thanks for your response. It is nice to know that I’m not the only one who has such reservations about The Politico’s strategy.

I do appreciate the organization’s multi-media/platform approach to presenting news and information; it deserves credit for understanding that it cannot limit itself to one medium (aren’t newspaper sites doing video now?). However, like you, I haven’t seen anything earthshaking in any medium yet from The Politico.

You raise some very valid questions. I too was at the event and felt that VandeHei’s response about Politico’s plan for utilizing social-networking sites lacked specificity and vision. Also, despite all of their talk about innovation, I have failed to see anything innovative at their site thus far. They are only doing just as much (if that) as every other media outlet in the multimedia arena.

I found VandeHei’s opinion that the look and organization of the publication’s Web site has little impact on its readership to be quite telling. It certainly indicates a lack of Web savvy that surely is reflected in your remarks above. Presentation and eye-catching graphics aren’t a necessity to online success (Drudge, for example, does fine with a simple format) but a publication claiming to be a trailblazer in new media can’t underestimate the value of an appealing aesthetic.

Theresa