The Editor of PolicyByBlog and Emily Metzgar, a political columnist, just published (November 03, 2005) in the Christian Science Monitor an essay that deals with the prospect of the blogosphere becoming a "space" for running for President: COULD BLOGS TRUMP STUMPING IN IOWA?
Like all newspaper pieces, we needed to be short and we were edited. To expand the context, for over a generation political scientists have noted that there was a campaign for president before the ostensible running season began with the Iowa Caucuses. The journalist Arthur Hadley called this period the "invisible primary." Would-be presidents underwent a series of "tests." (Think Labors of Hercules!) As articulated by political scientist Rhodes Cook, these trails included: (more…)...
Bill Keller, editor of the New York Times, in one of a series of dismissals of bloggers, summed up his opinion of their contribution to the information society by the following: "Bloggers recycle and chew on the news. That's not bad. But it's not enough."
I disagree. Many bloggers are creating new content, hunting and gathering news and information, not just digesting it. The presidential race--or pre-race creates many examples. The invisible primary is a time of severely reduced press attention to presidential hopefuls. Even bigfoot frontrunners like, say, Hillary Clinton, do not get much national media attention speaking to the Women's Democratic Caucus in a rural county in Iowa. As Richard di Benedetto of USA Today once commented to me: "When I started in this business, I was taught that the job of a journalist was to go someplace that the public couldn't get to and report what he saw and heard." (more…)...
Bill Keller, editor of the New York Times, in one of a series of dismissals of bloggers, summed up their contribution to the information society by the following: "Bloggers recycle and chew on the news. That's not bad. But it's not enough."
If, indeed, that it was all bloggers were doing or could do, it would not be enough, but blogging today is much more than media criticism. In fact, there are bloggers who are doing everything that journalists ever did. Indeed that's the point about the world of "PolicyByBlog": blogging is a genre, a medium and a technology that can be used by professionals.
I don't think Keller was making a movie allusion. But to historians of political communication who are also interested in politicians using blogs to reach the people it is worth recalling the implications of the word "chew." I think of a potent icon of individual populist autocracy gone mad.
There were no blogs in 1956 when director Elia Kazan...
A few years ago I wrote a book on the history of the visualization of war. Today, writing a book on blogging, I see a striking differences between two "blogs of war," that is, first person accounts of a battle in the Middle East.
Then: In c. 1300 BCE, the pharaoh Rameses II and his army fought a battle against a Hittite army at Kadesh, in what is now Syria. The battle was a draw; in fact, the Egyptians ended up retreating. But Rameses' memorial temple--an instance of massive communication--shows on its 100-foot walls pictures and hieroglyphics of the great ruler as victorious. As originally painted, Rameses is bronze skinned, broad shouldered, long armed, resolute of face, wearing the twin crowns of upper and lower Egypt, and many times larger than the Hittites and his own men--a superman in the anthropological as well as comic book sense. (Rameses became the "Ozymandias" who, in Shelley's poem, demanded that all "look upon my works, ye mighty,...
The National Journal's Hotline has dubbed John Edwards "The most active potential candidate" of the blogosphere. Not only does Edwards have his own blog and guest blog, but as noted in previous posts here, he invites bloggers to special meetings whenever he travels to give a speech.
Originally posted December 7, 2005 at PolicyByBlog...
Whoever you are, female Gender Studies grad student, Republican male politician, male Marine in Falluja, you probably blog (partly) in the feminine style....What do I mean?
Let me get theoretical on you.
Blogs are about personal relationships. Interaction. Even intimacy.
Now, intimacy between leaders and the group, even if historically it has been part of male-to-male fellowship in war, sports, or politics, has elements of what students of political communication have called the "feminine style" in campaigns and elections. While this sort of classification scheme can often devolve into stereotypes of sensitive women and tough men, there is a considerable weight of research that suggests that a feminine style of public speechmaking includes the following:
(a) the address is made person-to-person, intimate, with personal pronouns;
(b) the speaker relates personal experiences that intentionally connect with probable personal experiences of the audience;
(c) the speaker offers anecdotes and stories as justifications for positions held
(d) the speaker invites the audience to actively participate in some...
Blogging is supposed to be a natural effusion of thought and emotion: modern politics is all about control, staying "on message," getting out your sound and visbytes, and reducing risks of gaffes. Hence the attractions of real blogging are low for frontrunner candidates like Hillary Clinton. And, well, PolicyByblog is a non-partisan blog but I don't think I'm stepping too far out of line to agree with those that characterize Senator Clinton's personal style as not naturally intimate and emotive.
Still...one can imagine she could blog in bursts--very controlled bursts!
In perspective, the first-person quality of a politician's blog is enhanced when they speak to us from interesting, even exotic, situations. Patrick J. Leahy, the Vermont democrat, blogs in "real time" from the floor of the Senate. "More from the Floor" updates up to several times a day. During Ronald Reagan's funeral, Representative Mike Pence (R-IN) stood inside the national cathedral and typed directly into his Blackberry for the following blog entry:
"My wife and I stand...
I am developing my own such list--but of reasons both why and why not--a politician should blog. Here is one via Loic Le Meur Blog. It is a well known Euroblog, and so most of the examples are from there. Interesting that most important reason to blog for an Amerian politician is not listed outright: TO BYPASS COMMERCIAL MEDIA, to avoid its editing, potential negative commentary, and so on.
10 reasons why should a politician blog (from Loic Le Meur Blog)
Why politicians should have blogs ?
1. To get closer to their audience, their supporters
2. To create a permanent open debate with them
3. To test their ideas easily and quickly, to enrich them and get new ones
4. To switch the way they talk to people usually from institutional to more personal
5. To better understand the criticism of the people against their ideas
6. To spread their ideas easily if they are supported by many people, in a decentralized way
7. To raise funds for...
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...
I have speculated here before on the new dimensions of political blogging. Most recent is a longer essay just published by the Chronicle of Higher Education. It is behind a paywall, so I reprint it here (with a few editorial revisions!):
And thanks to "doorguy" at Daily Kos for the publicity.
Political Blogs: the New Iowa? (Chronicle of Higher Education, May 26, p. B6)
Like many political junkies, I get my news and opinion fixes from newspapers, television, and specialty newsletters. But I also rely increasingly on blogs, the Web pages that contain both interactive, hyperlinked reportage and commentary. Such information sources are no longer curiosities. For example, Daily Kos (http://www.dailykos.com) — started by Markos Moulitsas Zúniga, who served in the U.S. Army before going to college and law school — includes contributions from a giant group of leftist, liberal, and Democratic bloggers. The Nielsen//NetRatings service reported that in the single month of July 2005, Kos attracted 4.8 million separate visitors. The Kos...