INTRODUCING HOT AIR [New Michelle Malkin Website]

michellemalkin.com ^ | April 24, 2006 | Michelle Malkin

[KS Flyover]

I'm excited to introduce you today to Hot Air--a conservative Internet broadcast network I founded with a team of multi-talented bloggers. (Press release here.)

Internet video is booming. Apple’s iTunes store has sold a gazillion videos since its debut. YouTube gets more traffic than the New York Times web site. And politically-oriented web video is on the rise:

* Google teamed up with Al Gore’s Current TV network to provide Google Current.
* Amazon.com teamed up with left-wing comedian Bill Maher for an online talk show.
* iTunes offers a discount price for Comedy Central’s liberal Daily Show.
* AOL joined with the Huffington Post to provide Contagious Festival, a collection of conservative-bashing short movies.

These efforts have one thing in common: they are all produced by liberals for liberals. I began Hot Air in part to bring more balance to the videoblogging world. But also because it's the next logical step in the information revolution. (See Ed Driscoll. And Power Line. London trends here. Flashback: Jeff Jarvis on vlogs in 2002.)

What text blogging has done to print media, videoblogging promises to do to broadcast media: challenge a once-insurmountable elite and kick down doors to unprecedented participation by citizen/"non-traditional" journalists. Thus our rabble-rousing mascot, created for us by Cox & Forkum:

We've posted the debut episode of our daily newscast called "Vent with Michelle Malkin." It's delivered in Flash (Version 8) format. Download a Flash video player here if the video doesn't automatically play for you.

Today's topic: The Tech World and Red China's Tyrants.

There's much more to Hot Air than the daily newscast, though. We have affiliates from Paris to Washington, D.C., to Wisconsin offering original video, photography, audio, photoshop parodies, and investigative reporting, and we're recruiting more. We are spotlighting the best content across the Internet in our "Top Picks" section. Our group blog is run 24/7/365. We'll be featuring original Flash animation, cartoons, mini-movies, and documentary trailers. And we've compiled a hot list of bloggers, podcasters, big talkers, creative entrepreneurs, and do-it-yourself resources for readers/viewers/listeners new to the Internet/broadcast convergence. The site is a fun, eclectic, and always enriching mix of traditional political analysis, humor, breaking news you need to know, and fresh-baked video goodness with no artificial flavors or preservatives.

We've also opened up a limited registration period for commenters. Come on over to Hot Air, join the studio audience, and get your fill!

[KS Flyover]

Earlier post - Email from michelle malkin - new website! (Dear Free Republic friends)

[Holicheese]

How many people are actually watching CurrentTV? Are there any numbers out there. I watched for about 3 minutes and had to move on.

[pgkdan]

bump...

[Salvey]

I watched for about 3 minutes and had to move on.

OK, so long as you didn't join move on.

[Holicheese]

They almost had me there for a minute. It was the Performance Artist from NYC telling me that Bush is Hitler. Boy, I was on the edge. Then my cat walked by and my trance was ended!

[Idisarthur]

Hey this is an amazing project.

I just viewed the first video "pod cast".

Blogging is amazing - just last night I was chatting it up with some friends. These two people are educated and smart people. They are can do people and quick. Anyhow, I was floored when I learned two things during the course of our conversation.

One, it amazed me that they really didn't understand that illegal, law breaking, immigrants created businesses and don't play by the rules. They take cash jobs and don't pay taxes. This forces honest business men (citizens) out or it lends to them cheating the system in the same manner. This was news to them. They thought that illegal immigrants only mow lawns and do construction.

Secondly, they are from Oklahoma and north Texas, yet they had not heard of The Oklahoma suicide bomber, Joel Hinrichs III .

Neither had they heard about this guy - the Jihadist in North Carolina.

I was deeply saddened, not completely surprised. "He who controls the information rules"
- author unimportant

Michelle, I hope it works well and that you have much success.

[Yo-Yo]

Da Rulz:

[Tanniker Smith]

bump for later.

[BibChr]

Been there, did that -- thanks to FR!

Plan to go back!

[Final Authority]

bump for later consideration

[LegendHasIt]

Looks like you are going to need more bandwidth Michelle!

Initial response must be a lot more than you planned for... Things are running pretty slow and spotty.

Good luck with this great new project, and thanks for letting us "get in on the ground floor".

(I've registered but my password hasn't made it here yet.)

Funny, this very moment Neil Cavuto said "...If we could just capture this HOT AIR, we could solve the energy crisis." :-)

[Scarchin]

Glad you posted that. I'm having a real problem getting on the site too. I guess that's a good sign - as long as she fixes it soon!

[Scarchin]

Hmmmmm. I wonder if this is something more than just a lot of users. She has a lot of feverish enemies.

[tcrlaf]

Of COURSE they hadn't heard of them! It's not in the left's best interest to let America know about threats, because it might help Bush....

Far better that the cattle continue to moo into the dark and a few of them die, than broadcast ANYTHING that might vindicate Bush....

This is about POWER, not TRUTH, or facts....

[LegendHasIt]

I don't know; It could be she is the victim of a Denial of Service attack.

michellemalkin.com seems to be having some problems too. They appear to be on the same server, so an attack on one would mess up both.

Could be something the DUmmies cooked up. They do hate her more than just about anyone.

[CarolinaGOP]

"They do hate her more than just about anyone."


If that's the case, she must be doing something right!

[Scarchin]

It's looking more and more likely that the "liberal" wackos have doen something to the site. When she posted the info on the loser protesters, the amount of foam and saliva sripping from their craws tripled.

[PJ-Comix]

This is an INCREDIBLE SITE. I think we will soon start seeing informational videocasts over there that you won't see on the MSM. For example, Michelle already had a videocast showing us what was REALLY going on at the recent illegal alien demonstration in D.C.. Meanwhile the local TV news station was giving us a completely SANITIZED version of that event.

It looks like we might be checking out Michelle's Hot Air site more and more for the REAL NEWS and the NEWS behind the news.

BTW, on a personal note....Years ago I used to camp out at Findley (sp?) State Park in Ohio which was west and south of Cleveland. When driving up to South Amherst I always passed thru Oberlin where the very liberal Oberlin College was located. I often saw the students there who reminded me of beatnik/hippie throwbacks and the thought occured to me that nothing but liberals would come out of that group. Little did I dream but one of the preminent conservatives, Michelle Malkin, would come out of that very College.

[KS Flyover]

"It looks like we might be checking out Michelle's Hot Air site more and more for the REAL NEWS and the NEWS behind the news."

I'll BUMP to that!

[Rate_Determining_Step]

I just saw Michelle's "Vent". Pretty good. She has good timing, good writing and of course, the Laurie Dhue "easy on the eyes" factor. The only thing missing I could wish for is my computer spitting out crisp C-Notes every minute.

I think her sites got slammed with the opening day onslaught of traffic.

Got to hand it to her. The ChiCom mountain is a daunting challenge. I almost see it as fait acompli, but she turns a good story on China's moves. I already RSS her blog - one of the best in the business. This will be an easy addition and bonus. Highly recommended.

To think I used to not give her a second thought when she was a little-ol reporter for the Seattle Times. Wow, has she ever moved on! Links: Michelle's Blog" Hot Air