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Ban Or Embrace Blogs: The Question For Candidates

The presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., banned an Ohio blogger from covering an event he had traveled all the way to New Hampshire to see.

The restrained but on-the-mark reaction at Daily Kos: "It's stupid to keep people out of events because they have a blog. In today's world, everyone has a blog, or writes at blogs, or has a MySpace or Facebook page, or participates in online forums like bulletin boards. ... As for bloggers, don't say that you are bloggers. I'm not sure what benefits you get from announcing it to the world."

The encounter has revived the question of whether bloggers should be treated as citizens or journalists, or as citizen journalists, when attending campaign events. It's an especially relevant question now in light of the OffTheBus citizen reporting planned for the presidential campaign -- an effort that already has prompted criticisms about fairness.

On the Republican side of the blogosphere, meanwhile, Fred Thompson may be angling for the unofficial honor of "blogger-in-chief" if he decides to jump into the 2008 presidential race: "Thompson has been the most active campaign blogger by far, and those who know him say he writes nearly everything himself -- not always the case in modern politics."

And on both sides of the blogosphere, the "Internet guys" who work for campaigns don't want to be called Internet guys anymore.

Here are more blog bits to digest:

-- Are the blogosphere and viral video good for politics? Not so much, if you ask some of Washington's insiders. Yet the anonymous "Digby," one of the netroots' own, accepted an award on behalf of the entire left blogosphere last week. (Read the transcript of Digby's comments.)

-- Bloggers and talk radio have gained enough clout in the immigration debate that key senators are taking steps to reshape the bill in an attempt to win support from the commentariat on the right.

-- "Social networking, blogging and online video technologies have taken the political world by storm. But in Washington, members of Congress are forced to watch this race for online superiority from the sidelines."

-- The YouTube video-sharing site is co-hosting a presidential debate with Democratic candidates next month and taking quesitons from citizens to ask the candidates. PrezVid has the what proprietor Jeff Jarvis calls "the picks of the questions"; 10 Zen Monkeys (whatever that means) has the "five sorriest questions." The debate also has sparked curiousity in journalistic quarters.

-- The latest issue of Mother Jones has an article titled "Meet The New Bosses" about the influence of bloggers on the left. I'm quoted briefly in the article. At least one blogger (at TalkLeft) didn't care much for the article.

-- The power of the blog has reached the developing world: "Africa's bloggers are coming of age, thanks to fastexpanding Internet access and a growing awareness of the power of the medium, creating a public space in countries where traditional media still face repression."

-- The Sunlight Foundation announced more mini-grants for Internet projects designed to bring transparency to government.

-- Howard Mortman an "unknown blogger"? Hey, I, Danny Glover, know who he is, so he must be somebody.

Posted by Danny | 08:33 PM

Comments

It is going to be a two man race. Fred and Hillary. :)

Don Jones | 06.24.07 11:13 PM

Um, you did know that -in the original (linked) story- Jerid was blocked from that meeting because it was closed to the press, yes?

So on one hand, bloggers would like to be considered the equivalent of journalists, when it suits them. At other times, they aren't the equivalent of journalists. Again, when it suits them.

Complaining that a blogger is a private citizen, and should hence be allowed to attend the above meeting begs the question. After all, "real" journalists don't magically become "public" citizens once they start writing or broadcasting.

If you want to be a mover & shaker, and report on the political world, you're a part of "the press."

Respectfully. Sir. :)

Casey Tompkins | 06.25.07 11:25 AM

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