Blogs & Mainstream Media

The rise of blogs in America  Did not gain popularity in the United States until after 9/11  Next political blogging moved into “warblogging” after the Iraq invasion  Really became most notable during the 2004 election– Howard Dean

Influence  Blogs became a source of news which mainstream outlets could not ignore  Their audience boomed because many who believe there is an inherent unstated bias in mainstream media saw them as more “honest.”

“Rathergate”  Dan Rather’s story on 60 minutes  Published documents that suggested George W. Bush went AWOL during his service in the Air National Guard.  Bloggers examined the documents and found them to be forged --- exposed the story.  Contributed to Dan Rather’s retirement when he said famously that the documents were, “fake, but accurate”

Blogs in the 2006 Senate Race Incumbent candidate for Virginia Senate, George Allen, called S.R. Sidarta an Indian-American campaign tracker for his opponent, Jim Webb “macaca” a term which is considered a racial slur in many cultures.  The story was picked up by local media, and then by national media, due to heavy attention by blogs such as the Daily Kos.  The media attention has been widely cited as a key reason why Senator Allen was defeated by now-Senator Jim Webb.  One consequence of the event was to end Senator Allen's presidential ambitions.  The defeat of Senator Allen was also enough to give Democrats a one seat majority in the Senate.

If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em…  CNN CNN  ABC ABC  NBC NBC  CBS CBS  New York Times New York Times  These types of blogs allow media outlets to seem more accountable to their audiences, but are often mocked in the blogosphere as being too “proper.”

EVERYONE is blogging  John McCain John McCain  Barack Obama Barack Obama  Megan McCain Megan McCain  Michelle Obama Michelle Obama

What’s the difference?  BLOG More opinion heavy Updated often User friendly layout Often have a stated bias  Political News Site Usually presented as impartial More dependent on news outlets Seen as more reliable information

Some influential political blogs… Huffington Post Daily Kos Politico