BIG AND LITTLE ISSUES AT GRASSROOTS.com

By: Charles Bowen Mapping the Political Landscape From Left to Right



To get started, visit Grassroots.com



A few years ago, I wrote a book called 'Modem Nation: The Handbook of
Grassroots Activism Online.' For that project, I scoured the Internet
for sites, big and small, that covered not only mainstream politics
but also out-of-the-way issue-oriented venues.



That work would have been so much easier if Grassroots.com had been
around in those days. This is a wonderfully structured home page for
homespun politics. No matter what the issue from abortion to gun
control, from education to transportation this nonpartisan site
provides news, chat rooms, and message boards.



For instance, you can use it for research, checking out congressional
voting records and finding organizations and federal agencies that
live on the firing line of each emotional campaign.



Whether you're a writer covering this year's election campaign scene,
an editor handling political copy from the field, or a columnist or
editorial page editor dealing with the issues of the day, here's a
site you need in your electronic tool kit.



The private, nonpartisan site was launched last autumn, with major
investments from Advanced Technology Ventures, Knight Ridder Ventures,
and AIG Developed Markets Private Equity Fund. It features a blend of
original and syndicated content with an emphasis on the local
perspective, all of which can be customized by the user to highlight
issues of interest.



To use this powerful utility, visit the site at http://www.grassroots.com,
where the introductory screen has a score of issues such as 'Abortion,'
'Guns,' and 'Race & Ethnicity' in a hyperlinked list in the left column.



If you decide to write about the site, your readers might be interested
in the 'Talk It Out' section at the left of that screen. It provides
links to in-depth articles and related discussion groups, as well as
online facilities for contacting elected representatives, polling
other visitors and finding out where political candidates stand on
the issue.



Considerations for using Grassroots.com in your own writing and
editing:



1. The Democracy Network, linked via an 'Elections' tab at the top of
the introductory page, is an information and candidate debate Web site
developed by the Center for Governmental Studies and the League of
Women Voters Education Fund. To use it, enter a ZIP code to review
information from that area's federal, state and local candidates.



2. Grassroots.com also is host to a number of radio commentaries by
Emil Guillermo, a former host of National Public Radio's 'All Things
Considered' who frequently contributes columns to the San Francisco
Examiner. To check them out, click the 'Radio' tab at the top of the
home page.



3. To sample columns and commentaries around the country, click the
'Opinion' tab at the top of any of the Grassroots.com screens. This
links you to the work of columnists Molly Ivins, Robert Novak, Tony
Snow, Walter Williams, and others, as well as an assortment of
editorial cartoonists.







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Bowen writes columns, articles and books from West
Virginia, and is host of the daily Internet News syndicated
radio show (http://www.netnewstoday.com). charlesbowen@compuserve.com



(c) Copyright 2000, Editor & Publisher