Political Blogs

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Political Blogs
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• 12 million American adults ( 8 of internet
  users) keep a blog
• 57 million adults (39 of internet users) have
  read a blog
• the regular daily audience for political blogs is
  fairly small
• in the millions of readers, not tens of millions

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Political Blogging

• also known as polblogs
• political blogs first became popular in the 2004
  election
• they were ridiculed when Howard Dean used them in
  his presidential campaign
• but have since become very popular
• since 2006, blogs and other interactive and
  social media have become
• the focus of the press
• -provide a way to become politically interested
  -encourage participation
• in 2008, the question was no longer whether to
  use political blogging but how to do so

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Who are Political Bloggers?

• surveys have found that polbloggers are
  disproportionately male, higher income, and have
  higher levels of education than the average
  American
• they are much more likely to get involved in
  politics in traditional ways than other Americans
• giving money
• voting
• they are people who probably have some influence
  (whether positive or negative) on the
  decision-making of larger groups
• Ed Keller and John Berry say that these people
  are the strategically placed transmitters that
  amplify the signal, multiplying the number of
  people who hear it.

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Daily Political Blog Readers All Others
Male 75 60
Female 25 40
18-24 7 5
25-34 14 13
35-54 41 41
55-64 23 25
65 and up 16 16
High school graduate 3 4
Some college 23 27
College graduate 45 41
Post-graduate degree 30 28
n 723 7,140
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In the past year have you. Daily Political Blog Readers All Others
Contacted a politician? 77 61
Written a letter to the editor or called a radio station? 48 28
Been a member of a group that tries to influence public policy? 44 28
Attended a political speech or rally? 40 22
Attended a local public meeting? 35 33
Made a speech? 29 28
Served on a local committee? 23 24
Served as an officer for an organization? 22 26
n 723 7,140
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Why Blogging

• since 2001, blogging and all other forms of
  Internet communication have become run of the
  mill and everyone does them
• thus, it has become less intimidating
• people want a chance to level the playing field
  and get on the same level as other pundits
• theres a road to success through this medium now
• not just people who are ambitious and want a
  career in it but also just people who really want
  to make a difference

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The Community Aspect

• blogs provide a sense of community that used to
  be the lifeblood of traditional news
  organizations
• especially newspapers
•  the Internet has become an ideal medium for
  fostering a new type of community in which people
  have never met, and may not even know each
  other's real names, but who share certain views
  and opinions about the way the world works

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Attitudes and beliefs

• many people want the news delivered to them in
  the context of their attitudes and beliefs
• that doesn't mean they only want reinforcing
  views (although some do)
• they see their news consumption as something
  that takes place within their community, to be
  fit into a pre-existing framework of ideas that
  may be challenged but that must be acknowledged

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• "The news creates a shared pool of stories that
  gives us a way to talk to people who aren't
  family or close friends or people who we will
  never meetin short, our fellow citizens. The
  truth is, people still want those neighbor-to
  neighbor contacts, but the traditional ways of
  doing it don't fit into the lives that people are
  actually living today. Your core audience is
  tired, sitting on the couch with their laptop,
  and watching 'Lost' with one eye. Give them
  someone to sit with."

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Should they be trusted?

• all news needs to be evaluated within the context
  in which it was produced
• it is considered bad form to not disclose who you
  are writing for/working with
• especially if someone is getting paid

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Their Effectiveness

• liberals or conservatives who get all of their
  news from ideologically friendly sources don't
  have much incentive to change their minds
• bloggers can be very influential in their own
  circles
• BUT were not yet at the point where they are
  actively and extensively shaping a larger media
  narrative

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The 2008 Election
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ELECT OBAMA AND WELL HAVE AN INTERNATIONAL
CRISISTHE REPUBLICAN SIDE

• a huge difference between 2004 and 2008
• theyve learned its a group of people they need
  to talk to
• Fred Thompson
• before he officially announced he was very
  involved but then stopped
• Mitt Romney
• very quick about putting things up
• video highlights from debates
• opposition research
• John McCain
• regular blogger conference calls
• the blogosphere has never been exactly his fan
  base

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How many have to die thanks to Bush's lies?The
democratic Side

• the candidates themselves have not done a great
  deal of outreach to the blogging community (with
  the exception of Dodd)
• Chris Dodd
• hired a really good internet team who was very
  active early on with the political blogs and knew
  how everything worked
• how the rest stack up
• Edwards
• Clinton
• Obama
• (this is just in terms of political blogging and
  does not include social networking)

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• The Daily Kos
• Little Green Footballs
• Talking Points Memo