Political Blogs: Netroots Groundswell or Garage Bands?

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
In the middle of a dozen or so articles assessing the explosion of political blogs into mainstream culture, there was one story that begged to differ. "Netroots Hit Their Limits" (predictably) emerged from the stodgy and stalwart publication, Time Magazine. In it, Perry Bacon, Jr. describes "Netroots" and the concomitant rise of political blogs as "the Democratic Party's equivalent of a punk garage band--edgy, loud and antiauthoritarian." Bacon makes an interesting note. While most would agree that the political pendulum is beginning its swing back to the left, he states "moderate Democrats say it with remorse, conservatives with glee, but the conventional wisdom is bipartisan: progressive bloggers are pushing the Democratic Party so far to the left that it will have no chance of capturing the presidency in 2008." He generates some statistical data that deserves stricter scrutiny. Bacon claims that "a coarse estimate of the Netroots' numbers shows them to be something less than a groundswell. The readership of the largest liberal...
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Can the Clintons Harness the Blogs? (USA Today)

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
I wrote this essay for USA Today in response to a meeting between leftbloggers and former President Bill Clinton at his Harlem headquarters. Along with my forthcoming book, BLOGWARS, it argues that blogging has "arrived" in politics today. Politicians and political professionals (as well as journalists and media workers) are "blogging up," and trying to figure out how to use blogs in their business. Note: One of the big differences between your own blog and writing for the mainstream press is that you get edited by the latter--something I always accept (along with a check!). So, for example, I wrote the piece just after the blog lunch, but it was not printed until now because the paper wanted to put it closer to the election, which made sense. In any case, the original is below. A few lines that were cut--mostly for reasons of length--are now restored. How will the Clintons harness the political force of the blog? By David D. Perlmutter USA Today, Monday October...
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Remnants from Rumsfeld: The War of Ideas

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
a.k.a. “Bush and Rumsfeld and Iraq and Troops and “Terror! or Insurgen!” and “Mess” In what was dubbed a “referendum on Iraq,” voters in the midterm elections were characterized in mainstream media as casting votes not necessarily for a particular candidate, but against the war in Iraq. And while in some cases such a blanket statement is inaccurate, the very fact that it is was mentioned with such recurring frequency suggests it played a materially significant role. The GOP was battered with barbs from both the right and the left in the weeks leading up to the election. The generic charge was that they were “out of touch” with reality. One of the chief targets of criticism was the recently-retired Donald Rumsfeld. In what may be viewed as an appropriate parting gift, The BBC reported the Department of Defense established a new program at the Pentagon to “boost its ability to counter ‘inaccurate’ news stories and exploit new media.” The program is designed...
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The Daily Blog

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
As a longtime viewer of both shows, it is both surprising and easy to understand why The Daily Show and The Colbert Report have garnered such a large and loyal following. They utilize a methodology that is familiar to bloggers: filtering through a number of “news stories” and providing a provocative caption for the action. The back-to-back shows have become “must see TV” for many viewers that are dissatisfied with mainstream sources of information, again a common reason that people flock to blogs for insight. The current issue of The Rolling Stone features Stewart and Colbert on the cover, bearing the title “America’s Anchors.” The interview itself demonstrates the utter ease with which the duo uncovers the humor of any situation, from the moment that Maureen Dowd set the recorder down: “’I had one like that in 1973,’ Colbert notes. ‘I thought it was a chaise,’ Stewart says. ‘I was going to lie down on it. I suppose there are two...
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Perils of Interactivity, Cont. (Obama MySpace)

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
I just finished my final draft of Blogwars: The New Political Battleground (Oxford University Press). As I have said, writing a book on blogs is like reporting NASCAR with stone tablets--so much happens so fast. One topic of current interest is the nature of interactivity: what are its benefits and drawbacks for politicians? Of course, in the bloglands, you can’t pack the rooms with your supporters, shut out hecklers, and enforce message discipline. For example, candidate Barack Obama pioneered the use of MySpace as a campaign tool, but look at what happens when you open up the gates of interactivity to anyone, from kooks to your sworn enemies to supporters who embarrass you by their support. Among the July 2007 commenters on the Obama MySpace site, one “Namaste” from the hip-hop music producers at StreetLabStudio signed on to say, "Fallin' thru ta show ya some luv and say wassup!! Have an Excellent, Blessed Day!! 'lid.....never follow." Fair enough, but does the...
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BlogWorld & New Media Expo 2007 Presentations

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
This week I am presenting at the BlogWorld & New Media Expo, 2007 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas. I will moderate two panels. Created by blogger Rick Calvert, BW will be the first business expo to showcase blogging as well as the other interactive "new" media. The array of talents and sponsors is impressive. The first panel , on Thursday, Nov. 8 will focus on "The Power of Political Blogosphere." The scheduled panelists include: Hugh Hewitt, Pam Spaulding, Dave Nalle, Taylor Marsh, and Brad Friedman. On Friday, Nov. 9, I will moderate "Political Blogs Vs. The Political Press" featuring John Hinderaker, Brad Freidman Mary Katharine Ham, and Taylor Marsh. Here are the current drafts of my presentations. Originally posted November 6, 2007 at PolicyByBlog ...
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State of Visual Communications Research (AEJMC 2008)

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
Another presentation that touched on political blogs: David D. Perlmutter. "The State of Visual Communications Research." Presentation to a luncheon of the Visual Communication Division of the Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communication at the Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Ill., August 8, 2008. Originally posted August 18, 2008 at PolicyByBlog...
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Blogwars & Blogthroughs

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
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 ...
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David Perlmutter Interviewed by Care2

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
I was interviewed by Care2, a company that provides online outreach for nonprofits. David Perlmutter Talks Blogs, Interactors, and Jon Stewart David Perlmutter, author of the new book Blog Wars, is a professor at the University of Kansas School of Journalism & Mass Communications. Perlmutter, who was a recent guest on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, sat down in Washington in early August for an interview with Care2’s Clint O’Brien to talk about how blogging is reshaping media and changing the way citizens think about politics and social causes. Clint O'Brien: What inspired you to write this book? David Perlmutter: Blog Wars began as an idea as early as the mid-90s. In 1996 a friend and I did a study of presidential campaign websites. Basically, what we found was that they were pretty much static bulletin boards: speeches, statements, pictures just posted up there. No real interactivity. At the same time, I had been writing a lot on new communication technologies...
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Perlmutter Interviewed by BlogTalkRadio

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
PbB editor David Perlmutter was interviewed by John Ciampa for his Bloggerschool Podcast on BlogTalkRadio (Saturday 09.06.08) and later (Weds., 09.10.08) for BlogtalkRadio's Alan Levy Show by Hilary Leewong & Shaun Daily. The topics: Perlmutter's book BLOGWARS and the upcoming CITIZEN JOURNALISM WORKSHOP I helped create at BLOGWORLD & NEW MEDIA EXPO 2008, Sept. 19, 2008 – 10:00AM – 4:45PM (Las Vegas Convention Ctr.) Originally posted September 13, 2008 at PolicyByBlog ...
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