I am now a self-hating blogger, so I'm writing this with a heavy conscience. I have no respect for myself for writing this, nor for you for reading this. And it's all Ned Lamont's fault.
Last Tuesday, my fine publication sent me to Mr. Lamont's campaign headquarters in Meriden, Ct., to await the results of the Democratic primary and write a few color graphs about the party. I had a blast slithering from other members of the old-school media herd and chasing down Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and other notable demagogues for perfunctory quotes. At about 10:30 p.m., Joe Lieberman conceded and the thousands of Lamont fans, staffers and political supporters sequestered at the Sheraton hotel were ecstatic.
Lamont's victory was a victory for the liberal bloggers, his most avid constituency. But even before the results were in, the bloggers' heads were swelling inside their dusty baseball hats. Old-schoolers like myself, distinguished by ties and objectivity, started walking into the "blogger media room" (Yes. they had their own room!) to interview them, needlessly inflating their egos. At one point, they closed the door for a special session on how to deal with media attention.
It didn't help that the Rev. Jesse Jackson and U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters came by to stroke them further. In Jackson's case, it's significant that an old-school newspaperman (myself) asked the demagogue reverend all the questions while the giddy bloggers stook star-struck off to the side, taking photos and feeling important.
Later, when Lieberman was conceding on TV, they were hollering, chanting and throwing bottle caps at the screen. When Waters came to kiss their asses, they started chanting "Maxine!" New media. We're all going to hell.
Every major paper wrote about these idiots the next day. Here is my meager effort. It has no personal opinions, I got paid to do it and I was wearing a tie while typing it up. Maybe I'm not like them, after all.
(I'm the small blue figure on the right, with a tie)
Bloggers credited with role in Lamont victory on Tuesday
Thursday, August 10, 2006
BY GENNADY SHEYNER
Copyright © 2006 Republican-American
At about half past midnight Wednesday, a group of writers sequestered in a room at Meriden's Four Points Sheraton hotel received an unexpected visit from a jubilant U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif.
The group, most in their late 20s and 30s and wearing jeans and T-shirts, were at the hotel for two reasons: to track the progress of primary night on their blogs, and to cheer on their candidate, Ned Lamont. An hour after the Greenwich businessman accepted the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, dozens of them still lingered around the hotel, drinking beer, cheering and typing away on their laptops when Waters came in.
"Do you know what you have done?" Waters, a Lamont supporter, asked the crowd. "You have upset the status quo for real!
"Blogging has got to be THE thing," she continued to a rowdy ovation. "You have shown the world how much power you have just blogging. You're going to change the world!"
Like many political and media observers, Waters credited the bloggers -- short for Web loggers -- with helping Lamont snag the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate from three-term incumbent Joe Lieberman. Since Lamont declared his candidacy in February, dozens of liberal blogs, or informal online journals, rallied behind his candidacy, urging readers to volunteer and donate money to his campaign.
Thus, when Lamont accepted the Democratic nomination Tuesday, many of the bloggers present at the Sheraton saw it as a personal victory.
Other politicians also are noticing the growing influence of blogs. A bloggers' convention in Las Vegas in June attracted a flock of established politicians, including Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, who in 2004 became the first politician to be propelled to national stardom by the Internet.
But while experts generally agree that blogs are useful vehicles for rallying volunteers and sparking debate, some are skeptical about their ability to elect candidates or cause significant change.
"It takes more than just the bloggers themselves," said Michael Morrell, a University of Connecticut professor who focuses on the effects of direct democratic participation. "But they can be a catalyst that can start a reaction among the grassroots that can impact an election.
"If there wasn't a general sense of frustration, a general sense of desire for something different in the general population of Democrats in Connecticut," he continued, "the fact that a group of bloggers is trying to push for change probably wouldn't have made a great difference."
The goal of most bloggers, however, is not to start revolutions but merely to express their opinions. Gabe Rosenberg, 30, said his blog, connecticutpolitics.blogspot.com, offers him and his nine fellow blog members a chance to discuss politics candidly and without any pretense of objectivity. It is this quality that separates blogs from "mainstream media" such as newspapers, news magazines and broadcast news.
"We admit that we're editorializing," Rosenberg said. "The mainstream media writes straight news, but they can still spin it based on what they include in or exclude from their stories. We are very upfront with our opinions in our stories."
Matt Browner-Hamlin, 24, didn't care if his colleagues didn't exactly behave like journalists. Browner-Hamlim, who posts on teambio.org and baltimoregroupblog.com, said the major difference between bloggers and mainstream reporters is passion.
Because most bloggers work for free and by choice, they have to genuinely like what they're doing.
"I don't get paid," said Browner-Hamlin of Westport. "I do this in my free time. For me, this is a hobby and an addiction."
But while more voices may mean more support and more involvement, they also mean more potential for unofficial statements that can backfire, said Howard L. Reiter, who heads the political science department at University of Connecticut.
For instance, one pro-Lamont blogger posted a doctored photo of Lieberman looking like a minstrel in blackface. When the Lamont campaign found out about the photo, they asked that it be removed.
"It's a risk," Reiter said. "Sometimes a candidate can be embarrassed by unofficial support."
Jim Dean believes the risk is well worth taking.
Dean, who chairs the political action group Democracy for America and is the brother of Howard Dean, said the Internet was a critical tool in organizing about 700 grassroots organizations behind Lamont.
"Our supporters are avid, vociferous and energetic," Dean said. "They are the kind of new blood we need to promote our debate."
The energy was on display more than an hour after Lamont's victory speech.
While most reporters had already left the Sheraton, bloggers were still partying and discussing future plans inside their media room.
Adam Green, who blogs on huffingtonpost.com, said the excitement will not die down any time soon.
"Tonight, on the blogs, Ned-mentum really begins," he said.
0 comments:
Post a Comment