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11/1/2005
GROONG: ALL THE NEWS THAT'S FIT TO EMAIL
IN THE PUBLIC VIEW: Online
by Hrag Vartanian

In 1989, Asbed Bedrossian and a bunch of friends were hungry for news of Karabakh's war of independence so they created GROONG (groong.usc.edu) and in the process the most comprehensive online Armenian news service.

Previously an email-only listserv housed at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Groong's website is becoming the medium of choice for users unhappy with full inboxes.

"In the early 90s it was hard to get information so email made sense, but now something happens in Armenia and there are at least ten sources writing about it, including Associated Press and Reuters. Currently, we have 1,200 email subscribers and tens of thousands of website users a month," he says.

With volunteers around the world that write original material or wade through thousands of sources for articles, Asbed, himself a volunteer, knows Groong has become indispensible.

"When I had a car accident in 2001, there were no postings that day. Believe it or not, I received a phone call from a Congressman's office asking what happened," he remembers.

With a tough policy of no commercialism or campaigning, Groong sticks to its guns as an independent source that doesn't kowtow to political parties or organizations.

Now a family man, Asbed admits it's a little tougher than before to devote the two to six hours a day that is required to ensure Groong runs smoothly. "Perhaps one day I'll make it into a business, but until then we are doing fine," he says.

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