THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 11, 1996 TAG: 9608110066
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: FROM WIRE REPORTS
LENGTH: 81 lines
The United States still may be four years away from its first full-fledged ``cybercampaign,'' but the '96 election offers a window on the future of online politics.
The Republican convention in San Diego will be the first political convention transmitted live on the Internet, so you can watch the event and interact with it on your computer screen.
Many of the political and media sites on the World Wide Web also are unveiling treats for the politically craven and those just curious about plugging into the democratic process.
Republican Party
Bob Dole may be behind in the polls, but the sophistication of the GOP's sites is off the charts. ``Cyberdelegates'' who dial in will be provided instant access to convention events. In one corner of the computer screen a clock counts down to exactly how many days the party faithful believe President Clinton has in the White House. Another small window will show live video from the podium. There also are GOP trivia games and the capability to create personalized e-mail postcards with Dole's picture. http://www.rnc.org
Dole offers a custom home page that registers you, then on future visits greets you by name, reports on your pet issues and displays graphics you have chosen. http://www.dole96.com
Democratic Party
This official site is woefully behind its rival's. Less than three weeks before its convention, the home page highlights information on becoming a delegate. The pace needs to pick up long before balloons drop. http://www.democrats.org
Clinton and Vice President Al Gore introduced a Clinton/Gore '96 site in July. It invites contributions to ``America's Home Page,'' including video, audio and text submissions. http://www.cg96.org
Visit San Diego
``Source'' is the name of the Web site of the San Diego Daily Transcript, a business newspaper. It is full of information about how the city is coping with the convention, with gossip about who is doing what on the town. In conjunction with the San Diego Museum of Art, it will try a first: virtual visual. Four local artists will be on the convention floor creating online artistic impressions of what they see. http://www.sddt.com
From the left
The Web site of muckraking Mother Jones magazine will have comedian Paula Poundstone and actor Peter Coyote reviewing the convention performances. http://motherjones.com
From the right
The Right Side of the Web is always entertaining, especially for its acerbic views of the left and token media bashing. See Rush Limbaugh being put on a pedestal. http://www.clark.net/pub/ jeffd/index/html
News media sites
CBS: Dan Rather may be getting old, but CBS is going after the youth vote with Phoebe. This teenage girl is so ``fed up'' that she decides to run for president in a cross between a sitcom and C-SPAN. Phoebe will have her own Web page and become a player in real news events, allowing kids to see the election process through her experiences. Targeted for the 8- to 13-year-old crowd, the betting is Phoebe becomes campy enough to bring older kids to the political playground. This CBS News site also will broadcast the convention live, gavel to gavel. http://www.cbsnews.com
NBC-MSNBC: NBC News and MSNBC also will co-produce ``Decision '96,'' an online campaign news service. http://www.msnbc.com.
POLITICSNOW: A consortium of ABC News, The Washington Post and the National Journal, this is the savvy site of the Beltway insider. The ``Buzz'' is a must for insiders. And you can play along: virtual voting on issues, and chats with politicos and experts. http://www.politicsnow.com
ALL POLITICS: The CNN-Time magazine site is the one to hit for breaking political news for all ages. Student reports from Children's Express can be found here as well as detailed coverage of the state delegations. Also offering live chats with newsmakers and their political journalists. Very good election games. http://www.allpolitics.com
POLITICSUSA: A service of the National Journal and the American Political Network. Extraordinary resource for the serious junky of national politics. http://www.politicsusa.com
FOR MTV FANS: The music video network offers forums with newsmakers and celebrities live from the convention. Geared toward younger voters. Sometimes offbeat; often informative. http://www.mtv.com
KEYWORDS: REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION 1996 INTERNET
WORLD WIDE WEB SITES by CNB