The Democratic National Committee has expanded the definition of “press” this week, as about three dozen bloggers will officially cover the Dem’s national convention in Boston. The New York Times talked to several of the bloggers who received official press credentials for this interesting story. Next month, the Republicans plan to issue press passes to 10 to 20 bloggers.

One challenge for these writers will be shifting from third-person commentary to first-person reporting, which many of them have never done. Lawyers, librarians, and even a high school student will be attempting “real journalism” for the first time. And unlike mainstream journalists, who (supposedly) maintain at least a pretense of objectivity, many of the bloggers are open activists with an obvious point of view. At least readers know where these guys–and as the Time notes, the credentialed bloggers are overwhelmingly guys–are coming from.