Content

The website focuses on news aggregation, linking to major political news making headlines across the state. The editors write occasional features

Feature story

- Published Features & news :While the distinction between published features and news is often clear, when approached conceptually there are few hard boundaries between the two. It is quite possible to write a feature in the style of a news story, for instance...

, like the weekly "Up & Down" scorecard and one-off lists like "Harrisburg's Smartest Staffer" and "Best Dressed Lobbyist" lists. In addition, PoliticsPa.com accepts anonymous tips; it was the first news source to report in 2004 that Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter would face Pat Toomey

Pat Toomey

Patrick Joseph "Pat" Toomey, Sr. is the junior United States Senator for Pennsylvania and a member of the Republican Party. Previously, Toomey served as a U.S. Representative for three terms, but did not seek a fourth in compliance with a pledge he had made while running for office in 1998...

 in the Republican primary and that Joe Hoeffel

Joe Hoeffel

Joseph Merrill "Joe" Hoeffel III is an American politician. A Democrat, he is currently a member of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, having previously served from 1992 to 1998....

 would seek the Democratic nomination that year. On occasion, the website hosts original documents including political radio ads, campaign fliers, and controversial letters.

The editors of the website operate under the pseudonym

Pseudonym

A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...

 "Sy Snyder," a nod to the former Pennsylvania Governor Simon Snyder

Simon Snyder

Simon Snyder was the third Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from 1808 to 1817. A Jeffersonian Democrat, he served three terms as speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives before becoming governor...

 Terry Madonna

Terry Madonna

G. Terry Madonna is Professor of Public Affairs and Director of the Center for Politics and Public Affairs at Franklin and Marshall College. He is also the Director of the Franklin and Marshall College Poll. In the early 1970s, he served as County Commissioner of Lancaster County,...

, professor at Franklin and Marshall College, said in 2003 that the level of expertise demonstrated on the site implies that "Sy Snyder" must be a reporter, a politician or a consultant. Specific speculation ranges from political reporters Pete DeCoursey

Pete DeCoursey

Peter L. DeCoursey is a prominent reporter of political news in Pennsylvania.DeCoursey worked as a press secretary for U.S. Rep. Bob Borski, D-Philadelphia, from late 1987 to late 1990, and for Philadelphia City Council for most of 1987...

 and Charlie Thompson

Charlie Thompson (reporter)

Charlie Thompson is a prominent journalist in Pennsylvania, working for The Patriot-News.In 2003, an article in the Lancaster Sunday News speculated that Thompson and Pete DeCoursey, both then reporters for the Patriot-News, were operating the political website PoliticsPA under a...

 to former State Representative

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two year terms from single member districts....

 and convicted felon Tom Druce.

Influence

By 2003, the site had become a popular fixture among political junkies and insiders, focusing on detailed political minutiae and "scuttlebutt." In spite of the small size of this audience, PoliticsPA.com became one of the "most influential forces in state political circles." Observers have compared it to the Drudge Report

Drudge Report

The Drudge Report is a news aggregation website. Run by Matt Drudge with the help of Joseph Curl and Charles Hurt, the site consists mainly of links to stories from the United States and international mainstream media about politics, entertainment, and current events as well as links to many...

and subscription-based news sites the National Journal's

National Journal

National Journal is a nonpartisan American weekly magazine that reports on the current political environment and emerging political and policy trends. National Journal was first published in 1969. Times Mirror owned the magazine from 1986 to 1997, when it was purchased by David G. Bradley...

The Hotline

The Hotline

The Hotline is a daily political briefing published by the Atlantic Media Company from its headquarters at The Watergate complex in Washington, DC. It is edited by Reid Wilson with Josh Kraushaar...

 and Capitolwire

Capitolwire

Capitolwire is a prominent online subscription-based news service focusing on issues relating to politics and government in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania House of Representatives hold a contract with GovNetPA to supply access to Capitolwire for $600 per year for over 40 selected staff...

.

The website grew from 11,000 hits per month at its launch on October 22, 2001 to almost 40,000 hits per month in April 2004.

History

PoliticsPA was founded on October 22, 2001

The website was created by the Publius Group, a New Jersey-based media organization who, at the time operated five similar state-based political websites, including PoliticsNJ, PoliticsVT, and PoliticsNY. Ceisler Jubelirer, a Pennsylvania-based media relations group, including Larry Ceisler

Larry Ceisler

Larry Ceisler is a prominent public relations manager in Pennsylvania, where he is the principal of Ceisler Media & Issue Advocacy.A native of Washington, Pennsylvania, he is a graduate of American University and Duquesne University School of Law....

 and Jeff Jubelirer, purchased the website from the Publius Group in January 2007. The new owners maintained a similar structure, including using the "Sy Snyder" pseudonym.

In 2005, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission is the governmental agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania responsible for the collection, conservation and interpretation of Pennsylvania's historic heritage...

 sent PoliticsPA.com a "cease and desist" letter warning against displaying an image of the Commission's historical marker

Historical marker

A historical marker or historic marker is an indicator such as a plaque or sign to commemorate an event or person of historic interest and to associate that point of interest with a specific locale one can visit.-Description:...

 commemorating Simon Snyder

Simon Snyder

Simon Snyder was the third Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from 1808 to 1817. A Jeffersonian Democrat, he served three terms as speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives before becoming governor...

, which was protected as a federal trademark

Trademark

A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...

. State Representative

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two year terms from single member districts....

 Mike Veon

Mike Veon

Michael R. Veon is a former member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, representing the 14th District from 1985 through 2006.-Personal life:...

successfully lobbied the Commission to relax its image policy, allowing use in "legitimate promotion."