DIGITAL SPIN:
The Internet Media and Sound-Bite Spanish
By Theta Pavis
Special to WHYY
I was headed for the press tents Tuesday night when the first strains of Mariachi music hit my ears.
 Dressed in black and red outfits and playing up a storm, the band was positioned on a platform so that delegates to the Republican National Convention would see them on their way into the First Union Center.
It was just a taste of things to come.
When George W. Bush got to Philadelphia yesterday, his first stop was a welcome celebration at the Museum of Art entitled Bienvenido a Philadelphia. In between speeches, a string of Latino performers took to the stage, including the Miami Sound Machine.
With Latinos poised to become the largest demographic in the U.S., the Republicans have aimed squarely at capturing their vote. The GOP has also been working overtime to diversify the party's image, with a range of people invited to speak at the conventionÑincluding Latino businessmen.
"George W. Bush es mi amigo," Hector Barreto told delegates last night. The entrepreneur from California was just one of many to speak in Spanish sound bites throughout the day. Bush and his now-famous nephew George P. have also taken the opportunity to showcase their bilingual abilities whenever possible.
Looking out toward the city skyline, Bush told the crowd yesterday morning that he plans on winning in November.
"Venceremos," he said, which roughly translates as "We shall overcome."
Yet inside the press tents -- where a range of new Internet sites are working overtime to cover the convention -- there remains a lot of skepticism about these multicultural efforts.
"A lot of people say it's a cheap way to get the young Latino vote -- the poor, the underprivileged," Pierre Kressmann said. He works at the Spanish portal, Terra, which has a booth in Internet Alley.
Terra is in 15 Latin American countries and wants to compete with AOL and Yahoo! The firm's U.S. offices are in Miami.
One of Terra's reporters spent her day interviewing Latinos in Philadelphia, and many of them told her they found the Republican efforts to be "hypocritical."
Another outfit closely covering the convention is the Latino On-line News Network. The Philadelphia-based company bills itself as "the most comprehensive" news and information Web site for Latinos on the Internet.
It's also chock full of statistics, including the fact that the U.S. Latino population (22.4 million in 1990) is expected to double in 30 years and triple in 60.
During the convention, LATNN is working with Media Bureau Networks, a technology and communications company in Northern Liberties. Together, they are producing an Internet show called "The Slant," which covers the convention from a Latino perspective.
The GOP is not just courting Latinos, however. A big effort has also been made to include African Americans. And, although only 4 percent of the delegates are African-American, many have been invited to speak at the First Union Center.
Sitting in the press gallery, I met Marco Bardazzi, one of about 20 Italian reporters here to cover the convention. (Of the 15,000 journalists in town, about 1,000 are from the foreign press.)
Between his halting English and my non-existent Italian, we managed to chat.
"On the stage you see African Americans, yes? But, eh, in the audience, not so many," he said.
Besides covering issues of diversity, one result of having so many new Web sites join the ranks of the media is that they are making journalism a more diverse profession as well.
"With the infusion of Internet companies into the press mix, it's opening up so many different points of view. Internet companies are forcing new issues to be raised," said Steve Greenbaum, director of business development for Media Bureau Networks.
Media Bureau has its roots in hip-hop and also works with DJs to Web cast music. Hang out at their convention booth and you'll see more diversity in five minutes than you might see in five years inside the average, large American newsroom. DJ Logic is hanging around, while a young Japanese man checks in with his boss. A Salsa show is hosted by a Jewish fellow who calls himself a "Hebrew-rican."
Emil Guillermo, vice president of Webcasting for another new dot-com, agrees with Greenbaum.
Guillermo works for Grassroots.com, which bills itself as the premier political destination for citizens and their representatives. It's less than a year old.
"The ideal users are those who have felt disenfranchised by the system but feel empowered by the new technology," Guillermo said.
Guillermo adds taht the influx of so many new Web portals might help to diversify the journalism itself. "The Internet has the promise of democratizing the whole industry," he said.
Guillermo knows what he's talking about. In 1989, he was the first person of color to host National Public Radio's All Things Considered.
More Web sites that have set up shop to cover the convention:
blackvoices.com
women.com
Radioforchange.com
More Digital Spin: Ridge Spotlights
Technology
By Patrick McGee, of Technophilly.com
Governor Ridge kicked off the convention by appearing at an event at the Franklin Institute that highlights the state's technology. (Read the full story.)
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