Politics continue to pop as Chideya's online magazine moves to USC

By Alexis Johnson: The offices of the popular and innovative website Pop and Politics will be moving to the University of Southern California in the near future.

The move, according to founder Farai Chideya, is spurred by a change in monetary support for the site.

Currently supported by San Francisco State University, the site offers news and political commentary for young people. Many of its articles are written by students across America.

With Pop and Politics, Chideya said, she is striving to achieve a two-fold vision. Pop and Politics aims to "train the next generation of political and cultural journalists" and "become a well-known and credible news source for the 18-29 demographic," she said.

Chideya started the website in 1996 as a prototype blog, and it eventually evolved into an online magazine.

The site "began organically as an outgrowth of my access to the political process," said Chideya. Chideya said she wanted to make her proximity to politics available to others. She had been sent to cover the events of the 1996 presidential election and began blogging about her reporting.

Readers can be involved in the site on many levels, Chideya said. They can write full articles, become a member of a group blog or just comment on blog articles that have already been posted by others. Regardless of how one participates, the main goal of Pop and Politics is to encourage that involvement.

The site is cultivating young people’s "sense of politics and their investment in its progression," said Chideya, who noted that the project aims to be diverse ideologically and ethnically.

Pop and Politics is also becoming technologically diverse by incorporating podcasting. The website recently began podcasting 15 minute radio shows for its subscribers, opening another door for interaction.

"It’s something about the texture of the show that involves the listener," Chideya said. It is a form of commentary the editors want to develop for the site.

But like many other Web endeavors, money is the biggest obstacle for the site, Chideya said.

"People will pay for their entertainment but expect their news for free," she said.

Pop and Politics is constantly looking for new contributors in its efforts to engage and invest its readership in the political process.

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