Politico 44

Having digested it for a few days now, I can say that Politico 44 does a rock-solid job of meeting its goals: comprehensive, up-to-the-minute (or damn near) coverage of the Obama presidency. The schedule down the right-hand side is nicely done, though maybe it's not a whole lot more or better than what's available from the White House itself. I like the Whiteboard as well. It does seem a little stalkerish, as others have pointed out, but if you're laying claim to minute-by-minute coverage, you almost have to do this, no? Below that, the series of postings -- video and written articles -- are on topic, well organized, and easily accessible. As for the third and final column, on the left, the links to other publications is a nice feature, too. Finally, at the bottom, the sections on the Obama family and the like are also well done. I wouldn't quite call it a "living diary," but to be all Obama, all the time, the site seems as complete and accessible as you'll find.

It's difficult for me to say how many people it would take to pull together Politico 44 as a stand-alone publication on a daily basis, but it need not be THAT many. The bulk of the staff would have to be reporters/videographers (the same thing nowadays?) to just stalk, uh, tail Obama and administration officials. Would they edit video themselves onsite and send it to HQ or even upload it themselves? Would Politico 44 honchos want an intermediary editor even if not absolutely necessary? The answer there would determine some staffing needs and levels. Some editor/copy editor would be needed for the written stuff. Another person could be tasked to collect and mind the daily schedule, but that hardly seems a full-time job. Likewise selecting the links to the other pubs in the left-hand column. The site would absolutely have to have a project manager to keep tabs on reporting, editing, uploading, etc.

I get the feeling that several things came together to "make" Politico do Politico 44. First, it seems the site exists because it CAN exist; that is, in the last few years -- say, since the last election in 2004 -- the Web and video and audio and computers have evolved and converged such that Politico's leaders felt compelled to cover Obama 24-7 just because they could. Second, I question whether we'd be seeing a Politico 44 if not for Obama himself -- he's a rock star. If John McCain had won the election, would the public be as interested in him, and would Politico bother with a 24-7 site for him. If Hillary Clinton had bested Obama and then McCain, same thing -- would public and Politico interest be as great? I certainly get that interest in the 2008 election was off the charts and these are difficult, maybe historic, times, but would interest be sustained if anyone other than Obama was 44? (Carlos -- do you happen to know whether Politico was ginning up a 44 site before it was clear Obama would win?)

I'd like to go outside the box -- NOT treating Politico 44 as a stand-alone publication -- for one observation. In that context, the site isn't really "all that." Politico reports and collects a whole raft of material and then portions it out under various rubrics -- Congress, Campaigns, Campus, Life, etc. But there
is considerable cross-pollination, which is one of the oldest tricks in the editorial book. For instance, you could get the piece on Jill Biden at Politico 44 -- and certainly she can be counted as part of the Obama presidency and worthy of a diary entry -- but you could also get it under at least two other Politico headings. I suspect other economies of scale are at work, too. Does Politico 44 have dedicated editors and copy editors, or does Politico maintain one shop and pass copy from all its branches through it? Same with rights and licensing -- I can't imagine Politico 44 has its own legal team when Politico had to already have one in place. All in all, it seems Politico has done a very smart thing with 44 -- re-packaging content it would have already had for its other sections, add some Obama-specific stuff, and capitalize on the public fascination with Obama.