The root is a daily on line magazine that was created to focus on news pertinent to African Americans. What is interesting is they are owned by Washington Post Company through The Slate group. Their advertisements are run and controlled by the Washington Post. When you click on advertising you are redirected to the Washington Post Digital Ad center. HBO is sponsoring the cite and MSN has agreed to run some of the article. With all of this though, the reporting they are doing, while at times is a little tabloid, is narrowly focused on the demographic they are seeking to serve.
For the most part the cite functions as a commentary and collection. Like other cites we've seen (such as the drudge report) sifts through the pertinent information on the internet and pastes it in a forum in which its easily accessible. They also feature some vary interesting guest views. On its about us section of its website it has guidelines for submission which are:
The Root commentaries aim to to spark lively discussions on our site, as well as dialogue with other conversations taking place on the Web through embedded links to videos and other news and commentaries on blogs, newspapers, webzines, organization sites and video. Essays should be 500-800 words in length. Please copy and paste the essay within the body of the email, as well attach it as a Word document. (Hyperlinks can be inserted from the tool bar.) Please send submissions, along with a one paragraph author bio, and phone and email contact information, to submissions@theroot.com. For general comments, please send an email to readerfeedback@theroot.com
They are very much dependent with only a staff of four on outside authors, They are very open through to the idea of citizen journalism it actually more like citizen blogging.
Another interesting feature of their website is the roots tab in which you can input your information and using AfricanDNA.com you are able to find your "roots". It is a really interesting addition to a news site.
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