Day: February 22, 2013

In today’s fast-moving media environment, there is no traditional news cycle akin to what existed before the advent of the Internet and cable news. According to a CBS News article, news publication is almost instantaneous, and is quickly followed by pundit discussions and analyses. The instantaneous news cycle now makes vilification much quicker than in previous generations. For example, on a recent edition of the Up To Dateradio show, Dr. David Perlmutter mentioned that immediately after Governor Sarah Palin was announced to be John McCain’s running mate, blogs were writing salacious things about Palin’s family. On the show, Perlmutter argued talented and qualified individuals might not run for political offices for fear of having skeletons in their closets instantly exposed. That statement possesses merit. However, there are shades of gray within the argument. Therefore, it is difficult to properly be able to completely agree or completely disagree with the statement. In the early years of the United States’ life, newspaper articles were rife with...

Toxic Technology During a recent radio talk show segment on media issues, David Perlmutter, a guest on the show, a journalism professor at the University of Kansas and the moderator of this blog, posed this question: Are attacks and vilifications of public officials on blogs and other forms of new media making would-be politicians reluctant to enter the field? Arriving at a definitive, fact-based answer to that question seems difficult at best. Would the people who say they were stopped from pursuing political careers by fear of noxious bloggers really have pursued them otherwise? I suspect most people who go into politics have the chutzpah to stand up to the fear of being slandered. Values, platforms and world views may serve as guidance systems in political careers, but wide, hard competitive streaks fuel the campaigns. Politicians, like soldiers and professional sports figures, are risk takers; the adrenaline rush of pursuit blunts the pain of small injuries. Poisoned Pens The part of the talk show I found most...

When someone decides to run for public office what is to be expected? Personally, if I ran for office I would want some attention from the newspapers, radio, and news stations in the form of interviews.   And if I was smart, I would contact all the people I did something wrong to and buy them off and make them sign a contract not to disclose anything unless they want a lawsuit.  In this article titled “Should you run for public office?” they suggest if you do have skeletons in your closet be prepared for your life to be dissected for the world to see. Now, I don’t think I have done that much, but who knows who remembers what? Someone might have some crazy picture of me in my undergrad years, thank heavens, there wasn’t much digital cameras! I would however be at the mercy of a certain photographer in Kansas City who tends to photograph every race I ever ran in the...

As the third oldest profession in the world, politics is considered to lose its attraction gradually especially to the young people who grew up in the new media generation. In my opinion, the reason partly lies in the over exposure to the public including privacy life traced by the new media hidden in everywhere as a politician. The open platform built by the new media technology draws more attention and interactive passion from the public than the traditional media as well as it brings more attacks and vilification to the politicians. New media made a whole new political communication environment. The proliferation of media outlets as well as the breakdown of old restraints in both media and politics, plays an inescapable role in U.S. domestic politics, helping to shape agendas and create (or destroy) politicians. In Washington, one of the greatest divides amongst the young and old is whether or not new technologies are viewed as positive or negative additions to...

After Congress failed to pass a $700 billion economic bailout package, to which the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 777 points in reaction(resulting in the disappearance of an estimated $1.2 trillion in capital), one would think there'd be plenty of analysis on what this means to Americans. There was plenty of analysis out there – if you knew where to look for it (RealClearMarkets.com, like its sister site RealClearPolitics.com, rounds up a variety of market news coverage). But demand for explanation cooled after the market bounced back: The Dow posted the third-highest one-day point gain in history by jumping 485 points; the rise was presumed to be from investor confidence that the House will pass a revised bill later this week. Interested in finding out what the top headlines were after the roller coaster of a news day, I was surprised what stories were churning in the blogosphere's popular political sites. Some featured headlines sum it up: "Fingerpointing continues on bailout failure" (Townhall.com) "It's your fault, Stupid" (The DailyKos) "Poll: GOP blamed for failed bailout" (Politico.com) Bloggers...

If you log onto any media, blog or social networking site you find it completely dominated by two things: Presidential politics and the economy. Now the further is engrossed in the economy so it boils down to one idea, everyone is talking, thinking and worried about the economy. What’s changed is how the media is covering the issue. Traditionally the media picks the topic, brings in an expert, brings in someone to counter the expert and goes from there. While the media claims to be unbiased, there is agenda setting going on and there is a slight biased one way or another. The interesting thing is how that is changing with what cnn.com calls “ireporters.” Anyone can post a story or chime in with their opinion or expertise. Now there will be differing opinions but the reader/viewer can watch what they want to whether it only supports one view or not. Additionally more opinions can be shared. Think about it, the media...

Barely more than an hour has passed since the House passed a controversial $700 billion bailout package, and the buzz on Google News,Digg and Twitter (Did Sarah Palin help name these websites?) is billowing faster than I can update. Keeping up isn’t easy. It is oddly entertaining, if you’re into black humor. Here are a few of my favorite tweets within the past 30 seconds or so: •    scholvin: Anyone who pointed to the market collapse last week as evidence we needed a bailout: come to my house for an a__-whipping (I changed that a-word, not the tweeter) •    bketelsen: Note to all my elected representatives: You are on notice. I hold you responsible for voting YES on this bailout bill. Pork doesn't fly. •    dswinney: Dear stock market, with the bailout now in hand, can we now please have at least ONE week without histrionics? Thank you. That is all. Well, hey: it is a bit less depressing than listening to cable news and at least the tweeters are...

Since one of the most tumultuous weeks in the 216-year history of Wall Street when the most serious financial crisis exploded, till October 3, President George W. Bush signed the biggest government intervention in the financial markets after the Great Depression, the new media (especially blogs) has gone through the deeper discussion and controversy on the economic crises and the government responses over the past weeks. The discussions were mainly concentrated on the reason of the economic crisis and the influence of the $700 billion bailout plan. While most bloggers noted that the Federal Reserve Bank’s long-time policy of bailing out wealthy financiers, combined with its refusal to regulate their behavior, had been leading to the causes of the crisis, the bailout plan raised the biggest controversy in the blogsphere since the broken of Wall Street Crisis that brought the pressure to the vote on September 29 and led to the proposal’s defeat in Congress more or less. Some bloggers criticized...

Amid warnings that both campaigns are engaging in too much mudslinging, the Obama campaign has released a 13-minute documentary style video and Web site targeting McCain’s involvement with S&L pro Charles Keating, who was at the center of a Savings & Loan scandal in the early ‘90s.  And while attack videos are certainly not new media or a new tactic, producing this kind of mini-movie is.  The Obama campaign seems to be cashing in on the success and/or influence of viral videos.  It’s working.  The trailer (yes, the trailer) has already garnered almost 300,000 views. A different, but no less effective video tactic is interactive billboard in Los Angeles. The California Democratic Party installed an interactive billboardnear an L.A.-area rally where Sarah Palin was appearing.  People can text-message short questions to the California Dems who would in turn put them on the billboard for all to read and ponder.  It’s an interesting way to get supporters and protesters alike to consider tougher questions that might otherwise be glossed over in a rally event. This week...

"If the two candidates and the national mood, turned dark because of the financial crisis, continue in place for the next 28 days, McCain will almost certainly lose the election." —Sam Donaldson, ABC News / Oct. 7, 2008 Barack Obama will be the forty-fourth president of the United States – at least, that's what it seems right now. Recent economic news has shifted several swing state polls in favor of Obama, who's moved ahead in Colorado, Missouri, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida and Ohio – many swing states McCain must carry in order to win the election. Also, Obama is closer to the 270 electoral votes needed to win: Should he add only a few of those states to his column, he will clinch the election. As Americans largely feel that President Bush is responsible for the economic crisis, many feelMcCain, by extension, is also responsible – and hence, the hugely unpopular Bush is hurting McCain's chance to win.  At a 70 percent disapproval rating – a record low for his presidency and the lowest since any other...