Release Date: October 14, 2009
"Blogging Salon" Spreads HCR Message to Blogosphere
What's at stake for women in federal health-care reform was the topic in the spotlight at Planned Parenthood Mar Monte (PPMM)'s September "Blogging Salon," hosted by svmoms.com co-founder Jill Asher. Nine Bay Area bloggers gathered in Jill's Palo Alto living room so that thousands of their readers and Twitter-followers could participate in the live-blogging session about issues ranging from health-care access for low-income families to making sure women don't lose coverage for reproductive-health services.
PPMM's California Vice President for Public Affairs Deborah Ortiz had focused on health-related legislation during her eight years in the state senate, and she gave the bloggers an insider's view of why some women's health concerns risk being excluded from the overhaul of health-care coverage. The lively session lasted for more than two hours and concluded with the bloggers' offer to work with PPMM and help spread the word about policy and services that are critical to the health-care debate.
Several bloggers posted their own accounts of the meeting, including Angela Orr, who is also a contributor to svmoms; Stefania Pomponi Butler a.k.a. City Mama and a co-founder of the social networking firm Clever Girls; Myrna Lantzsch of the Tangerine Times blog for parents of teens; and Sarah Granger who blogs for the San Francisco Chronicle's sfgate.com, the Huffington Post, BlogHer and the local political blog, Momocrats.
This was the second PPMM-sponsored meeting for regional bloggers. Jill, a 2009 Planned Parenthood Advocates Mar Monte (PPAMM) Voices for Change honoree, also hosted our live-blogging event last October during the successful campaign to defeat Proposition 4, the most recent parental-notification initiative.
We look forward to being a resource in the blogosphere for our salon participants and having another gathering in the spring. Next time we hope to include more bloggers from other regions within our affiliate. If you are a blogger interested in attending the next PPMM salon, e-mail Sue Hutchison and we'll put you on the list!
