Political Blogs: An Agenda for Research (AEJMC 2008)

I gave a presentation while at the Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communication Conference, Chicago , IL , August 5-09, 2008. David D. Perlmutter. "Political Blogs: An Agenda for Research." Presentation for a panel on "Blogging Politics: Press, Policy, and the Public." [Also serve as discussant.] Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communication Conference, Chicago, IL, August 5, 2008. Originally posted August 18, 2008 at PolicyByBlog ...
Read More

Blogwars & Blogthroughs

In my book, BLOGWARS, I talk about the "Blogthrough," a moment where blogs, due to their unique qualities, come into increased press and public attention and thus further enhance their status. Blogthroughs are often tied to big news events (The South Asian Tsunami, the Virginia Tech Bombings, "Rathergate") where blogs either incite or become part of the story. This chart, prepared with graduate students, Misti McDaniels and Nate Rodriguez, illustrates the "rise of blogs." The chart tracks over time (late 1990s to spring 2007) the number of mentions of the word "weblog" or "blog" in mainstream media (TV, radio, print). Originally posted August 18, 2008 at PolicyByBlog ...
Read More

Rhonda LeValdo Reporting from the Conventions

A graduate student in our KU program, Rhonda LeValdo, is reporting from the conventions. Details: She reports from Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas, focusing on the presidential race and how federal funding for education impacts many students on campus. As a National Minority Consortia fellow and teacher at Haskell Indian Nations University, LeValdo story focuses specifically on Native American college students, their views on the presidential candidates, and how their lives are impacted by federal funding for education. You can view Rhonda's story on the Online News Hour blog. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/vote2008/reportersblog/2008/08/native_american_students_conce.html Other NMC videos are available for viewing here: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/video/module.html?mod=1&pkg=vote2008nmc&seg=1 Tags: diversity beat, education, election, national minority consortia, pbs Originally posted September 2, 2008 at PolicyByBlog...
Read More

Perlmutter Interviewed on KUCR Public Radio

bB editor David Perlmutter was a panelist on the "Up to Date" show on KCUR Public Radio in Kansas City. Host Steve Kraske led a roundtable discussion of journalism and politics. The other guests were the Kansas City Star readers' representative Derek Donovan and Bottom Line Communications head John Landsberg. Originally posted September 13, 2008 at PolicyByBlog...
Read More

Pigs and Lipstick: Personal Still Defines the Political

It was only a few hours after John McCain announced Alaska Gov. SarahPalin as his running mate when bloggers started rumors about the unknown pick: Daily Kos blogger Inky99 suggested that Palin's fifth child may not be hers and was actually her 17-year-old daughter's. Citing a March 2008 story from the Anchorage Daily News where Palin announced she was seven months pregnant, Inky99 focused on an eyebrow-raiser: The "always-trim" governor didn't look pregnant. Rumors churned for a few days until Palin disabused rumors and revealed her daughter Bristol is pregnant, but news coverage still focused on Palin's personal life – as evidenced in the latest editions of news weeklies like Time and gossip magazines like Us Weekly (the latter of which featured Palin on the cover with "Babies, Lies and Scandal" as its headline, promising details of "embarrassing surprises"). Now, a week later, Palin's home life is still a hot topic: Blogger Mitch Marconi says it's all the media wants to talk about,...
Read More

New Media Update

The Obama campaign continues its reign on the Internet with two sites worth a mention.  First is the campaign’s mini-site Vote for Change, which allows people to find a polling location or share their campaign interests with friends through Facebook or MySpace.  Second, and even cooler, is theNeighbor to Neighbor Web site, a GOTV toolkit for any budding enthusiast.  Here, you can find list of voters by neighborhood or state, a script for your phone conversations, and a flyer you can distribute should you decide to go door-to-door.  Then you can use the site to report your results.  Confused?  Training and support are available to show you the way. Take a look at L Magazine’s guide to the new media landscape, which covers the spectrum of online political content.  It is user-friendly, easy to navigate, and offers a clever way to navigate the online minefield that has sprung from this campaign. It's worth noting that the scoring is done based on a spectrum of political minds from Chairman Mao ("The scare...
Read More

Perlmutter Speaks on American Political Blogging to Europeans (Dept. of State)

I just finished up a U.S. Department of State speaking tour of the Netherlands and Germany. Interest in American politics, new media and this election was VERY high. For more on the events in Munich--sponsored by the U.S. Consulate--go here. My different events and speeches: David D. Perlmutter. Panelist: Discussion on the Presidential Debates, Munich Conference on "U.S. Elections 2008: The Digital Campaign" at the German-American Institute, Munich, Germany, October 8, 2008. David D. Perlmutter. Keynote speaker on "Blogwars: The New Political Battleground," Munich Conference on "U.S. Elections 2008: The Digital Campaign" at the German-American Institute, Munich, Germany, October 8, 2008. David D. Perlmutter. Keynote speaker on "Overview of the New Media Landscape," Munich Conference on "U.S. Elections 2008: The Digital Campaign," on German Public Radio, Munich, Germany, October 7, 2008. David D. Perlmutter. Presentation on "U.S. Elections and New Media" at the German-American Institute, Nürnberg, Germany, October 6, 2008. David D. Perlmutter. Presentation on "U.S. Elections and New Media" at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, Netherlands, October 3,...
Read More
12