Author D. Travers Scott is an assistant professor in the Communication Studies department at Clemson University. He is an alum of the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California, and holds a Master of Communication in Digital Media from the University of Washington. In his article, Pundits in Muckraker’s Clothing: Political Blogs and the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election, reprinted in Technology in Our Time, V.1, Social Life on the New Media Frontier, Scott analyzes the content of four political blogs, arguing that political “bloggers were activist media pundits.” This can raise all sorts of questions involving the relationship between these pseudo-experts and their role in the dissemination and analysis of political information.
Scott’s analysis included four English-language U.S. blogs during the final 14 weeks of the 2004 presidential election:
1. InstaPundit (instapundit.com)
2. Talking Points Memo (talkingpointsmemo.com)
3. Daily Dish (andrewsullivan.com)
4. Daily Kos (dailykos.com)
Through an extensive analysis of each post uploaded between July 20th to November 5th, 2004, Scott was able to determine that each blog, while ranging in political commentary (from campaign strategy, to analysis of media coverage, and regional polls, etc.) each blog acted as forms of surveillance.
Surveillance was indicated by reporting on any event observed in physical or media worlds. This included applying original research to fact-check media reports.
– D. Travers Scott, Pundits in Muckraker’s Clothing
Rather that providing purely personal and opinion-based commentary, these blogs would monitor mainstream media coverage of political candidates and campaigns, and provide research-based analysis of any and all events occurring pre-election.
Scott also observed the function of correlation — “editorializing, or connecting, interpreting and suggesting action in response to events” within the blogs (356). This could be attributed to the result of the injection of personal/collaborative opinions from the bloggers themselves. Yet, contrary to Scott’s own hypothesis, correlation was observed far less than surveillance.
Furthermore, the consistency found between the four political blogs suggests that, despite their ideological differences, blogs can be a relatively reliable source of political information. Rheir surveillance of mainstream political news further suggests an even greater reliability than that of major TV Networks such as CBS, NBC, or CNN. Since they don’t have as great a degree of financial wealth available as more popular political outlets, these political blogs find their worth in their merit.
Prior to the rise of the internet, political commentators were at the mercy of mass-media to get their voices heard. It was only through outlets such as newspapers, or TV programs, that aspiring political analysts could really get their voices heard. Furthermore, financial wealth was almost a necessity in order to collect content for analysis (only the wealthy could afford to take off from a real job to attend political events). The internet is able to empower ordinary individuals, who, although unable to attend political conventions and events, are able to instead follow mass-media news stories, and build their own individual stories from there.
source: http://silencedmajority.blogs.com/silenced_majority_portal/2008/05/john-edwards-to.html
The politically elite are no longer limited to the financially elite. The internet provides a medium for political voices to be heard, with little to no financial cost. Instead, worth is becoming measured through the constant devotion and vigilance of political bloggers to report the most current, and factually-sound news stories every day.
Robinson, Laura. Technology in Our Time. Volume 1. San Diego, California: Cognella, 2001. 351-365. Print.
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