PITTSBURGH -- Blogging is a Web phenomenon that is off the charts and now, for one of the first times, it's causing a real ripple effect in Pittsburgh politics.

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Blogs are online journals that anybody can write. Their immediate, grassroots reach has been shaking up national politics and media -- and on Thursday, blogs showed their power in a way never seen before in western Pennsylvania.

John McIntire's blog, MacYapper, went public with details of rumors circulating the city -- but not reported by the mainstream media -- about Mayor Luke Ravenstahl.

"There was an incident on Halloween night, 2005, at Heinz Field," said McIntire. "My sources tell me that then-City Councilman Ravenstahl shoved a cop and was led away in handcuffs."

The blog recounts speculation that the late Bob O'Connor, who was not yet mayor, played a role in hushing things up.

In less than 24 hours, the claims exploded across the Internet, spreading to other Pittsburgh blogs and sites.

"My sources believe them to be true," said McIntire. "I believe the sources are credible, so I believe that it's true."

McIntire's blog forced Ravenstahl to go public to dispel the rumors.

When asked about whether bloggers are held to the same standards are television stations and newspapers, McIntire believes the answer is yes.

"In the sense that anybody can take anybody to court for anything and let the chips fall where they may, I am (held to the same standard). But I will acknowledge, of course, that in the brief history of the blogosphere, the standards are clearly more loosy-goosy -- whether they should be or not, or whether that's good or not, than they are in the mainstream media," he said.

McIntire's decision to go public unleashed the explosive power of the Internet in a way never before seen in Pittsburgh's politics.

"I think we have a very important election coming up, and the issue raises serious questions," said McIntire. "And there are a lot of questions out there, and they need to be answered so that people know whether Mayor Ravenstahl has the maturity level to continue to be mayor."

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