Political Blogs as “Public Domain” Speechwriters?

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
One of the strangest adjustments for those of us who have written mostly for publication in print venues is the different nature of "publishing" on the Web. The ethics of revising something that you find out is mistaken, want to reword or to take back is complicated. And with Google's cache feature you can't ever really, fully delete your "drafts." But to what extent are words printed in political blogs owned by anyone? I am very traditional in the belief that these words, written by me, are copyrighted by me (see notice at the bottom of this page). I would think that most bloggers would feel the same way, i.e., "Don't quote me unless you cite me." But in the world of politics, this can become an intricate and ambiguous question. Case in point: A few months ago, Representative Sherrod Brown of Ohio (D-13th Dist.) wrote a letter to Senator Mike DeWine (R-OH) concerning the nomination to the Supreme Court of Samuel Alito, and specifically enumerating...
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BLOGGING UP: News Roundup–01/26/06

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
I call it "BLOGGING UP": when organizations, government agencies, politicians, commercial companies, advocacy or lobbying groups or big media (print and electronic) try to use blogging for internal or public communication. The whole premise behind this website is that political blogging is coming of age as many mainstream folks and institutions try to adopt or adapt to blogs. I will start a new feature here--titled BLOGGING UP--which will periodically survey the variety of "professional" manifestations. A global roundup for this week: From Japan: "LIVEDOOR'S HORIE USES BLOG TO DENY WRONGDOING." The president of a company accused of financial misdeeds starts a blog to protest his innocence. Note his youth (33) and that he is an "Internet mogul." Will 72-year-old presidents of lumber supply companies do the same someday? (more…)...
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Who are Bloggers? Who Do Bloggers Represent?

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
UPDATED: It is normal now, when a big news story breaks, that anchors will "go to the blogs," inviting bloggers on-air for comment, or taking some sort of "pulse of the blogs." In some ways, thus, blogs have taken the place of the "man-on-the-street-reacting-to-news-story" interview typically employed by television journalism. But what do we know about who blogs? Are bloggers the "people"? This is a complicated question but one that many politicians and journalists are asking. I will discuss the subject at length in my book, but see my short essay, ("Are Bloggers 'The People'?") in the "DOCUMENTS" section of the blog (left sidebar). Main points and tendencies (not universalities) of the blogger profile: 1. Bloggers are not a statistical, representative, scientific cross-section of America--or the world. (Note: So it is wrong for journalists to say "let's go to the blog to hear what the people are saying." Rather go to the blogs to hear what bloggers are saying--but that might be pretty important. (more…)...
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Hillary Clinton’s Blog Dilemma: Are the Grassroots Burning?

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
[UPDATED] Blogs can be a loyal constituency, but not an unthinking one. Political bloggers tend to be passionate, idealistic about their politics, and less forgiving of the gamesmanship, issue flopping, expediency, rhetorical hedging, "message discipline," "good optics" and compromise on positions that is part of normal politicking for office.   New York Senator and former first Lady Hillary Clinton faces a conundrum in the face of this fact. As January of 2006 she had the largest war chest, the highest name recognition and topped ratings in national polls of any Democrat in the pool for a possible presidential bid. Normally that would allow a candidate to "play to the middle." Susan Estrich in her book, "The Case for Hillary Clinton," argued that she was the perfect candidate because "[W]hich of your safe white men are going to excite the base the way Hillary does, so they can spend all their time in the middle? I'll answer: None." But in fact, the base, as reflected...
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Hillary’s Stealth Nomination Coup?

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
I have an op-ed in the Christian Science Monitor titled "UNDER THE RADAR, CLINTON FOR PRESIDENT." (January 30, 2006). The original title was: "HILLARY'S STEALTH NOMINATION COUP?" I have posted here [updated recently] (and here, here, and here) on Senator Clinton and the blogs. This present essay is not blog-related per se, but it does suggest that Hillary is taking a very traditional approach to a possible presidential bid in 2008: solidify key constituencies (African-Americans) and project a moderate image for the middle class white voter. Curious but true: If the primaries were held today, HC would sweep the south; if the election were held today, HC would lose every southern state (save perhaps Florida). See post by MysteryPollster. Earlier I speculated on what was her blog-strategizing options. I even asked if she might decide to take yet another page from her husband's playbook and "Sister Soujah" the leftblogs! As of now Political blogs play little or no role in her campaign--save as leftflank...
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Interview with Managing Editor of WATCHBLOG

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
As noted here earlier, one of the expanding roles of bloggers is that of political educator to the public. To that end, I often refer students to Watchblog, whose principle of "critique the message, not the messenger" and its three-column-formatted roundup of blogging by "Democrats and Liberals," "Moderates and Independents" and "Republicans and Conservatives" provides a one-stop marketplace of ideas. I recently interviewed David R. Remer, Watchblog's Managing Editor, who is also President of Vote Out Incumbents for Democracy. PBB: What is the essence of Watchblog, that is what do you see its role and function in the world of blogs? Remer: IMO, the essence of WatchBlog is its capacity to maintain civil discourse in what is ultimately a public laypersons arena where they can pretend to become politically active. When one is paid by a party to disseminate political information, that information MUST conform to supporting that party regardless of issue or event. Political truth is in the eye of the beholder and...
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Blogging in Russia

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
Blogging is catching on as part of politics everywhere. From the Conference "Internet-2005", Novosibirsk, Russia, September 20-21, 2005 Blog founder Anton Nosik: Blogs will push the traditional media away in providing news to the mass consumer, and the recent events in New Orleans are a good example of this. Bloggers exist in any country and on any social level. Getting information from bloggers equals to being in the ground zero yourself. Anton Nosik, a dentist (!) is a pioneer of Russia blogging, starting in 1996. He established a news agency MosNews.com in 2003, was the CEO of Russia’s online search engine company Rambler.ru in 2001—2004, and served as the chief editor of Russian online news agency Lenta.Ru in 1999—2004. Originally posted February 21, 2006 at PolicyByBlog ...
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Political Blog News: February 14, 2006

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
"Democrats break into blogosphere; Likely '08 hopefuls walk fine line between liberal base, mainstream," Eric Pfeiffer, The Washington Times. Liberal blogs, long the domain of mostly angry political junkies, have elbowed their way into the political process, especially among mainstream Democrat legislators forced to court the online activists popular among their party's vocal base. "Blog Rage," Jim Brady, The Washington Post. Blogs play a crucial role in the national conversation, whether it's giving readers insight into a specific topic, providing a forum for healthy debate or holding the media's feet to the fire. Bloggers have indisputably helped fan controversy over a CBS memo on a broadcast about President Bush's National Guard service, publicize then Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott's comments on Strom Thurmond and spread word of a contentious speech by CNN executive Eason Jordan. What's distressing about my recent experience is that a small number of highly partisan, energetic bloggers poisoned the debate instead of contributing to it. Some of those angry...
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Political Blog News: March 7, 2006

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
Items of interest this week: Blogged Out of a Job; Few Firms Have Rules but Posters Be Warned, Amy Joyce, The Washington Post, February 19, 2006. A reporter in Dover, Del., was fired earlier this month for offensive postings on his personal blog. The number of bloggers continues to grow, but the number of workplace policies explaining the company's rules on blogging remains anemic. And that can cause a lot of workplace angst for both management and workers. Activists turn to blogs for war news, Leigh Shelton, The Daily Reveille (LSU), February 14, 2006. Recent Internet research shows blog readership jumped 58 percent in 2004, and blog readers find personal publishers, or "bloggers," to be much more credible than traditional journalists. The Iraq war debate between anti-war protester Cindy Sheehan and U.S. Marine Lt. Col. David Couvillon that occurred in Baton Rouge, La., drew, among others, a small group of war-supporting mothers and anti-war organizers with seemingly nothing in common except that they said...
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Interview with Suzanne Stefanac (Dispatches from Blogistan), Part 1.

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
Interview with Suzanne Stefanac (Dispatches from Blogistan: a Travel Guide for the Modern Blogger) Perlmutter: Tell me how you came to write a book on blogs? Stefanac: My trajectory here mirrors a lot of what went on in the computer industry. Once the Web started to take hold, its tentacles went very deep here. I had been writing for computer magazine for years, and so when the Web first started up, and Macworld? offered me the head of MacWorld online, the magazine didn’t know what to do with it, I think. Nobody knew what to do with any of it yet. I had great hopes for it. It was 1994 and there really weren't good database and search tools for the Web yet and I thought search was so important.… I felt like there were two great advances in civilization: plumbing and search algorithms. (more…)...
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