Pajamas Media Goes 'Open Source,' Flips Switch on New Online Venture at New York City Launch Event

OSM(TM) (Open Source Media), a new online venture designed to bring together top online writers, journalists and commentators under a single umbrella, officially
debuts today at a New York City launch event that features a discussion on the future of blogging and journalism, details on the company's content and the official launch of the new portal to the best of the blogosphere.

Today's launch event will include comments by Instapundit blogger Glenn Reynolds and Pulitzer Prize winner and best-selling author Judith Miller, who will discuss the "Shield Law" bill currently before Congress and broader issues facing bloggers and journalists alike. Other speakers will include David Corn (The Nation), Larry Kudlow (CNBC's "Kudlow & Company"), John Podhoretz (The New York Post) and Claudia Rosett (contributor to The Wall Street Journal), all of whom are noted bloggers and members of the Open Source Media Editorial Board, plus an appearance via audiocast by the noted Baghdad bloggers Iraq the Model.

Founded last year under the Pajamas Media name, OSM has been one of 2005's
most widely-discussed new blogging developments, due both to the scope of its vision and the support it's drawn from respected mainstream media journalists and bloggers.

Today, Open Source Media will detail its plan to become the new meeting ground for thoughtful opinion and news online, and a unique home for the growing movement of citizen journalism that will include important webloggers from across the world with mainstream media journalists sympathetic to its goals.

"Our most important goal is openness via the free and respectful exchange of ideas expressed through citizen journalists, coupled with a dedication to honesty and the truth," said co-founder, noted screenwriter and blogger Roger L. Simon. "When we talk about citizen journalism, we mean journalism not created by elites, as in the 'top-down' traditional media, but from the 'bottom-up,' by citizens using their observations and knowledge, informed by a desire to speak honestly. Citizen journalism at its best means the pursuit of the truth above all things, above partisanship or the financial interests of the medium publishing it."

Today's announcement comes as the blogosphere maintains staggering growth. According to a January 2005 report by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, blog readership increased by nearly 60 percent in 2004 to approximately 27 percent of all Internet users. More recently, analysis by the Newspaper Association of America found that the average weekday circulation of U.S. newspapers is continuing to decline, falling 2.6 per cent over the six month-period ending in September 2005. But, while cognizant of these trends, Open Source Media's vision remains one of evolution and
cooperation.

Open Source Media currently features content from more than 70 bloggers worldwide, primarily focused on political and current events. However, the goal is to expand its scope to eventually include all forms of coverage, from local news to pop culture to sports, fashion, food, hobbies and more. Advising the company and its bloggers is an Open Source Media Editorial Board that includes Reynolds, Corn, Kudlow, Rosett, Michael Barone and 10 other noted journalists and bloggers announced on October 17.

Today's event will take place at The Rainbow Room, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event will be audiocast live beginning at 10 a.m. Listeners should point their browsers to http://www.pajamasmedia.com in advance of that time, or to the new Open Source Media website, located at http://www.osm.org , which will go live at 10 a.m. Post-event summaries will be available at the Open Source Media website.

About Open Source Media
Open Source Media is a new media venture designed to bring together thoughtful bloggers and traditional journalists into a single open community that will provide discourse, commentary and content on a broad range of current topics. This community approach to news will forever open the news process to complement and re-define journalism in the 21st century. The company was founded in 2004 by acclaimed novelist and screenwriter Roger L. Simon and Charles Johnson, software designer, musician, and author of Little Green Footballs. For more information on Open Source Media, please visit http://www.osm.org .



SOURCE Pajamas Media
Web Site: http://www.pajamasmedia.com

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