MSNBC.com to News Hounds: Blog This!

MSNBC.com to News Hounds: Blog This!

Latest Online News Tool Promotes Discussion, Personal Commentary

REDMOND, Wash., Feb. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- MSNBC.com, a leader in breaking news and original journalism on the Internet, introduces Blog This, the latest communication tool designed to help online news consumers share information and ideas with friends and the public. Blog This allows users to quickly and efficiently write blogs related to specific MSNBC.com news stories and immediately communicate their opinions to others.

Blogging has gained significant momentum in recent months, providing savvy Internet users with a growing alternative source of news and information. MSNBC's Blog This provides these users with a direct, simple way to share not just the news story, but their personal opinions about the topic as well, and to a more diverse audience than previously available with the Email This or Print This features.

"Being a top online new source is about much more than providing a place for people to find up-to-the-minute information," said Dean Wright, Editor-in- Chief of MSNBC.com. "It's about helping people use and share that information. MSNBC.com's Blog This gives individuals command over the news. They can post commentary and sway opinions -- bring a new level of vibrancy and activity to standard reporting. It's a form of editorializing that really brings news to life at the personal level."

Blog This functions similarly to existing Email This and Print This features standard on every MSNBC.com story. The user selects Blog This either in reference to a specific portion of text or the entire story and is prompted to post his or her commentary. The blog is then published to the user's personal MSN Spaces site. All members of the writer's MSN Messenger list are notified of the new blog via a "gleam" icon on the user's MSN name. The blog site can also be accessed via web link.

"With more than 150 million users of MSN Messenger, the reach potential for MSNBC news blogging is extraordinary," continued Wright. "The easy to use format of MSN Spaces and the blogging feature are sure to prompt a great quantity and quality of opinions. This unprecedented insight to the readers will be fascinating to watch unfold. Blog This brings the power of information to the people -- letting them share professional news with a personal spin."

Individuals must be a member of MSN Spaces to use the Blog This feature and will be prompted to register if not a current member. MSN Spaces is a free service, currently available in beta version, which allows consumers to create personal Internet Spaces sites where they can express themselves in a variety of ways and interact with the people they care about most. MSN Spaces gives people a place to create and update a Web log, or blog, and share their photos, music playlists and more, all while better connecting them with friends, family or the online world.

About MSNBC.com

MSNBC.com is a leader in breaking news and original journalism on the Internet. MSNBC.com delivers the best of NBC News, MSNBC Cable, CNBC, NBC Sports, MSN, and Newsweek. MSNBC is a 24-hour cable and Internet joint venture of Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and NBC News (NYSE:GE).


Source: MSNBC.com

CONTACT: Kris Coratti, +1-202-298-9059 or kris@dbcpr.com, for MSNBC.com

Web site: http://www.msnbc.com/


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