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FORWARDING NEWS RELEASE from Tiffany Shackelford, on behalf of the Online
News Association . . .

Leading digital journalists, bloggers and educators from around the world will gather to discuss the practical and the possible in online journalism during the eighth annual conference of the Online News Association (ONA), to be held Oct. 17-19, 2007, in Toronto.

Organizers say the conference will feature panels, workshops and hands-on training. Participants will glean skills and information that will enrich newsrooms, transform classrooms and further the goals of those wanting to tell stories and create communities on the Web.

"There are conferences for Web strategists and advertisers, technical people and publishers, but as far as I know only the Online News Association focuses on Internet information and journalism for journalists," said Leonard Apcar <mailto:lapcar@journalists.org> Deputy Managing Editor, International Herald Tribune and ONA board member.

The conference is aimed at new and veteran Web journalists, bloggers and executives charged with growing the bottom line. It is structured around three tracks: community and convergence, content and design, and business.

The Community and Convergence track will sort out the nuts and bolts of how to build a strong online community and use cutting-edge software to tell stories in new ways. Community news experts, including Rob Curley and JD Lasica, will give attendees insight on how to become community evangelists. The brightest minds from ESPN.com, CBC News and CNN.com will show how broadcasters can rule online news.

The Content and Design track will focus on how best to create and package content for the Web. Each panel in the content and design track will spur the audience to think of new ways to engage their online audiences and ask questions about what lies ahead for interactive experiences. Panel attendees will come away with specific tips and tricks to be used immediately, as well as ideas for future projects.

The Business Track will focus on emerging technologies and publishing trends and will feature speakers who have innovated tools that can be applied to online news sites. The future of advertising, monetization and staffing will be addressed, as will the new legal challenges facing digital news production.

"So much of what will determine the future of journalism is happening online today, and there's no better way to keep up with the latest trends than by attending the only all-digital journalism conference," explains Jim Brady <mailto:jbrady@journalists.org> , Executive Editor & Vice President, washingtonpost.com.

In addition to the three tracks, additional workshops are happening on Wednesday, Oct. 17. Come hone your skills on Flash, video shooting and citizen media. Join representatives from the Knight Foundation and learn about the Knight News Challenge, meet this year's winners, and find out more about deadlines and requirements for the next competition.

The conference capstone will take place on the evening of Oct. 19, when the Online Journalism Awards are announced.

Register online <https://www.123signup.com/register?id=qktxv> (https://www.123signup.com/register?id=qktxv) for the conference and awards banquet. The early bird conference fee for ONA members is $399. Early bird registration lasts until Sept. 16. After Sept. 16, the fee will be $449 for ONA members. The non-member rate is $549, regardless of registration date.

Reserve your hotel room by Sept. 16 to get the ONA discount rate: The Sheraton Centre, Toronto, is offering conference attendees a rate of $191 ($229 CAD) a night. After Sept. 16, regular rates are in effect. Reserve rooms online <http://www.starwoodmeeting.com/StarGroupsWeb/booking/reservation?id=0608080027&key=F26D1>(http://tinyurl.com/yvf5th) or call (416) 361-1000. When calling, mention the ONA conference to receive the discounted rate.

**A passport is required for U.S. citizens traveling by air to Canada.**

For more information, contact Tiffany Shackelford
<mailto:tshackelford@stateline.org> (tshackelford@stateline.org) or
Chrys Wu <mailto:chrys.wu@gmail.com> (chrys.wu@gmail.com).

also MSWORD DOWNLOAD:
http://www.mediagiraffe.org/docs/ona-toronto.doc

SUBMITTED BY:

Tiffany Shackelford
Assistant Managing Editor for Outreach and Technology
Stateline.org
The Pew Research Center
1615 L Street, NW
Suite 700
Washington, DC 20036
202-419-4476

BELOW FROM:

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/08/blogger-agrees-to-pay-30000-in-sec-case/

August 8, 2007, 2:15 pm
Blogger to Pay $30,000 in S.E.C. Case
By Chris Suellentrop

Tags: Jerome Armstrong, s.e.c.

Prominent liberal blogger Jerome Armstrong has agreed to pay nearly $30,000 in fines in a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations that Armstrong touted the stock of a software company on Raging Bull, an Internet bulletin board, in 2000, without disclosing that he was being paid to do so.Armstrong, the co-author of .Crashing the Gate: Netroots, Grassroots, and the Rise of People-Powered Politics,. with Markos Moulitsas of Daily Kos, and the founder of the Democratic activist site MyDD.com, consented to a civil penalty of $20,000, plus disgorgement of $5,832, and $3,235 in interest.

The settlement resolves the S.E.C..s claims against Armstrong, said Robert Burson of the S.E.C..s Chicago office.Under the agreement, Armstrong neither denies nor admits to the allegations..It.s good to see the matter finally end,. Armstrong said in an e-mail message to The Opinionator today.

BELOW FROM:
http://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2007/lr20228.htm

U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission
SEC Seal Home | Previous Page
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Litigation Release No. 20228 / August 7, 2007

SEC v. Sierra Brokerage Services, Inc., et al., United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. Civil Action
No. C2-03-326

On July 26, 2007, the Honorable John D. Holschuh, U. S. District Judge for the Southern District of Ohio, entered a Final Judgment as to defendant Jerome B. Armstrong ("Armstrong"). The Final Judgment permanently enjoins Armstrong from future violations of Section 17(b) of the Securities of 1933. The Final Judgment further orders Armstrong to pay disgorgement in the amount of $5,832, prejudgment interest of $3,235, and a civil penalty of $20,000. Armstrong consented to the entry of the Final Judgment without admitting or denying the allegations of the Commission's Complaint, except as to jurisdiction.

The Commission's Complaint, filed on April 14, 2003, alleged that beginning on March 6, 2000, Armstrong touted the stock of BluePoint Linux Software Corporation ("BluePoint") by posting unsubstantiated, favorable buy recommendations on the Raging Bull internet site. Armstrong posted over eighty such recommendations during the first three weeks that the stock of BluePoint was publicly traded. According to the Complaint, Armstrong praised BluePoint's investment value and encouraged investors who were experiencing trouble having their orders filled to keep trying. The Complaint further alleged that the promoters of BluePoint were secretly transferring stock in three other companies to Armstrong at prices below the then current market for those three stocks and that Armstrong made at least $20,000 by selling the shares he received from the promoters of BluePoint. The Complaint alleges that Armstrong did not disclose in his internet postings that he was being compensated for !
making the postings.

http://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2007/lr20228.htm

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Modified: 08/07/2007

ORIGINAL URL:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/495906,CST-NWS-markos03.article

Native Chicagoan began blog as 'personal therapy'

August 3, 2007

By Abdon M. Pallasch
Chicago Sun-Times

Markos "Kos" Moulitsas Zuniga, 35, started blogging five years ago as "personal therapy" to get his frustrations with the Bush administration off his chest. "It was the tail end of the Afghanistan war and the lead-up to the Iraq war, and any sort of dissent against the president was considered treason and unpatriotic," he said. "It was never intended to be anything beyond personal therapy." But a lot of Americans were feeling the same frustrations, and his blog caught on. Now, he says, it's the most popular political blog out there.

"A lot of bloggers out there are much better writers than I am," Moulitsas said. "My talent has been in building communities." It wasn't until late 2004, when some conservatives started attacking him, that Moulitsas realized the impact he was beginning to have. "I knew they would not be hammering me if they did not perceive me as a threat," he said.

Moulitsas had an unusual childhood. Born in Chicago and raised in El Salvador, he returned here with his family after a civil war broke out there in 1980. He felt he did not fit in with the 2,000 students at Schaumburg High School. "They weren't really my type," he said. "I would have been happier if this technology existed back then. I would have been online talking to people like me. All we had was Pong."

Moulitsas graduated at 17 and joined the U.S. Army. After a three-year hitch, he enrolled at Northern Illinois University, earning degrees in philosophy, journalism and political science. He got a law degree from Boston University, then moved to Berkeley, Calif., to work in the tech industry. He lives there now with his wife and two children. He won't be coming back to Chicago: "Too hot, too cold, too flat."

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