Convention coverage to have interactive twist

Last update: January 29, 2008 - 9:13 PM

Gavel-to-gavel coverage of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul will be broadcast live via the Internet, convention officials announced Tuesday.

The web company that will provide the streaming video, California-based Ustream.TV, also will give viewers the chance to chat with and ask questions of convention and party officials in live video broadcasts, convention spokesman Matt Burns said.

The web address for the broadcast: www.gopconvention2008.com/live/.

The 2004 Republican convention featured video streaming of the proceedings but didn't offer an interactive component, Burns said.

Ustream was founded in 2006 by two former Army officers and another partner to provide what they call "interactive microbroadcasting."

The company has streamed video from several events, including last month's United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali, the 2007 YearlyKos political convention in Chicago and the Irish Labor Party annual convention.

Officials with the Democratic National Convention in Denver also plan to broadcast proceedings on the Internet but have not yet announced the video provider, said Natalie Wyeth, a spokeswoman for the convention committee.

KEVIN DUCHSCHERE

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