Pigs and Lipstick: Personal Still Defines the Political

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
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,...
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Perlmutter Speaks on American Political Blogging to Europeans (Dept. of State)

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
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,...
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Perlmutter Speaks about Medical Blogs to New England Journal of Medicine

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
While political blogging gets lots of attention, there are many kinds of blogging that are equally or more popular. I have posted here in the past about the types of medical blogs and even suggested a "Hippocratic Oath" for medical bloggers. I had the opportunity to twice speak on the subject for the New England Journal of Medicine. David D. Perlmutter. Featured speaker on "Medical Blogging: Challenges and Opportunities for Health Professionals," New England Journal of Medicine New Horizons Conference, Wellesley, MA, October 24-25, 2008. David D. Perlmutter. Featured speaker on "Building an Online Community for Professionals: The Lessons of Political Blogging." Massachusetts Medical Society & New England Journal of Medicine Committee on Publications, Waltham, MA, October 22, 2008.   Originally posted October 29, 2008 at PolicyByBlog ...
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Obama’s Win: An Argument Against the Balkanization Thesis

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
There are plenty of reasons to side with either view of Dr. David Perlmutter's "Blogwar by Balkanization" thesis: One could cite many examples, as he does in his book "Blogwars," arguing for or against this way of looking at political partisanship in blogs and new media. Are the contributors and users of political new media warring partisans, constantly at odds with each other and tearing at each other's thoughts – and throats? Or is that same group of contributors and lurkers seeking information to strengthen their views or finding information that enhances and increases their political knowledge and efficacy? There was a time when one could easily argue for Balkanization, that political bloggers and other creators and users of new media were hyper-partisan, hostile toward and nastily at odds with each other (or perhaps less dramatically, fervently devoted to posting content attacking and questioning the opposition). Indeed, "bloggers tend to be both more passionate about their politics and more partisan than the average voter"...
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The Balkanization of America

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
Are blogs and similar forms of interactive media responsible for the Balkanization of the American political body? Certainly plenty of evidence exists to show the rifts are wide. Blogs are divided between left leaning versions, such as the extremely powerful Daily Kos, and those on the right, including the Drudge Report and Red State. The divide isn’t limited to online interactive media, however. Fox Newsserves a population that wants an alternative to what has been described as a liberal media bias in broadcast. Radio talk shows serve a similar purpose. Political books and movies speak to alternative visions. People have plenty of opportunities to hear, read and view opinions similar to their own. In blogs and other forms of OSIM, they have the opportunity to express their views and trade observations with like-minded people. The problem is this: very few people are talking across the divide. Agenda Setting Agenda Setting theory posits that media do not dictate what people think, but they do dictate what people think about. In the days...
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Balkanization:History Swings Back Around

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
History tends to repeat its self far to often and usually in a way that people do not realize is a repeat. Blogs and other Online Social Interactive Media (OSIM) is creating a bigger divide in politics and partisanship. There is a catch though, this is not anything new, in fact it is history reverting to how politics used to be. One could argue that we have recently lived in a relatively partisan media free environment and that in its self is a historical anomaly. In the book Blog Wars by Dr. David Perlmutter a chapter is dedicated to the argument and counter argument that blogs and OSIM’s are deepening the divide in partisan politics. Not to assert my opinion into this post, but I do agree. These new online media sources, be blogs or partisan media sites, such ashuffingtonpost.com, moveon.org or townhall.org, provide readers with partisan information but called news. Now these sites do relay the information, but in a skewed and partisan way....
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Perlmutter at Texas Tech on Campaign 2008

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
I was part of an invited panel and spoke several times at meetings and classes at the College of Communications of Texas Tech University in Lubbock. Our host was Professor Tom Johnson. The subject was media and campaign 2008--of course! The other panelists included Michael Xenos, Louisiana State University; Elizabeth A. Skewes, University of Colorado; and Richard Johnson, University of Pennsylvania. Some of my points: Barack Obama's victory was the result of the old and the new. Very effective traditional campaigning, ranging from getting out the vote to event organization to polling, were mixed with innovative use of new media, especially online social-interactive (OSIM) venues such as blogs, MySpace, YouTube, Twitter, and so on. Barack Obama probably did not have a coattail influence on others running for office. The general Democratic Party brand was, in November, simply more popular than the Republican Party brand. But the massive publicity about Obama's OSIM efforts and successes affected and will continue to affect other campaigns for office. Simply put, every sheriff,...
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Perlmutter at Jeremy Taylor Show

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
I was a guest on the Jeremy Taylor Show on 1320 am radio in Lawrence. Our planned topic was "What will happen next in politics and media and our personal lives after the very prominent rise of online social-interactive media in campaign 2008?" Among my points: It will be interesting to see how the Obama administration uses OSIM in governing and gaining support for policies, programs, and projects in a different or similar way than they did for winning votes and raising money for the presidential election. I suggested that it would be a mistake to overdo OSIM--that is, if all those who had given their text message address to the Obama campaign received a note from him daily, there would be a significant turn-off of interest and enthusiasm. Like all weapons in politics or war, OSIM outreach must be used prudently. Second, referring to my previous post on a "slow blogging movement," I wonder whether we will reach a saturation effect, with instantaneousness, interactivity,...
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Perlmutter on “The Blogging of the President”

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
David D. Perlmutter was not able to attend but his co-author (Monica Postelnicu, LSU) gave their presentation on "The Blogging of the President: How Online Social-Interactive Media Helped Obama Win" at the Broadcast Education Association 2009 meeting in Las Vegas. Originally posted May 5, 2009 at PolicyByBlog...
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Mass Communication and Society on “New Media in the 2008 Presidential Election”

by David Perlmutter Comment Closed
David D. Perlmutter and Tom Johnson (Texas Tech) will be co-editors of a special issue of the academic journal Mass Communication and Society on "New Media in the 2008 Presidential Election." Originally posted May 5, 2009 at PolicyByBlog...
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