The document discusses the rise of political blogs beginning in the late 1990s and their increasing influence throughout the 2000s. It notes that blogs like the Drudge Report and Talking Points Memo helped spread stories about Trent Lott's comments and the forged documents about George W. Bush's military service presented on 60 Minutes that eventually led to their resignations. By 2008, political blogs had matured and helped spread rumors about Sarah Palin during the presidential campaign. The document ends by questioning the future influence of blogs and how to define a "good" political blog.

1. POLITICAL BLOGS

2. DRUDGE REPORT / MONICA-GATE
 Newsweek editors refused to publish story on Lewinski
 Drudge Report breaks story instead
 Voted #2 in 10 Web Moments That Changed The World
 Paved the way for political blogs
 But is the Drudge Report considered a political blog?

3. THE BIRTH OF THE POLITICAL BLOG
 Became popul ar after 9/11
 Original l y an outl et of
comments and thoughts on
national , col l ectiv e trauma
 Main stream media was
prov iding information,
discuss i on outl et was needed
 Perfect combinati on: pol itics of
post-9/11 and increas ed
technol ogy
 I ncreased civ ic awarenes s of
worl d and pol itical forces
prov ided ampl e audience

4. TRENT LOTT
 Then Sen. Trent Lott praising
Sen. Strom Thurmond on his
100 th birthday
 Sen. Lott said almost same
words in 1980 – no
controversy
 Blogs, led by Talking Points
Memo, kept the story
circulating, eventually
leading Lott to resign

5. TRENT LOTT
 Can political blogs be on YouTube?

6. DAN RATHER
 Dan Rather, on 60 M inutes
Wednesday, broadcast
documents regarding George
W. Bush’s mil itary service
 A s soon as it was aired, bl ogs
pointed out typographical
inconsistencies
 Dan Rather/CBS stood by
documents as authentic
 Experts, and ev en the son of
the purported author cl aimed
they were forgeries5
 Under pressure, CBS stated
they coul d no l onger v ouch
for the accuracy of the
documents

7. POWERLINE BLOG
 One of the first blogs to cry fowl over documents
broadcast by CBS
 Started by Minneapolis lawyer John Hinderacker on his
laptop on a random weekend
 First post, “This is a new blog dedicated to current
events and any topics that are of interest to me.”6
 By simply posting his thoughts after the CBS story, he
helped keep the momentum than ended with Dan
Rather’s resignation

8. SARAH PALIN
 By the 2008 election, political blogs had reached their
teenage years
 When Sarah Palin was announced, blogs began to
circulate rumors about her recently born son, Tripp
 The rumors, that Palin had faked her pregnancy to
cover up her daughter’s pregnancy, became vicious
and violent on some blogs
 Did those jump the gun, or did they shoot themselves in
their foot with their anger?

9. FINAL QUESTIONS
 Political blogs have been growing over the past
decade – what will they look like in the future? How
much influence will they have?
 What defines a “good” political blog? I.e., acceptable
amount of ideology, subjectivity, etc.
 Do you, or would you be willing to read a political blog
not aligning with your politics? Why, or why not?

10. SOURCES
 http://www.webbyawards.com/press/webby_top_10.php
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcR9K66UjkI
 http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp -dyn/A37288-
2002Dec10
 Lessig , Larry (2004). Free Culture: How Bi g Medi a Uses
Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control
Creativity. I SBN 1594200068.
 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/09/10/politics/main64272
9.shtml
 http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1009913 -
1,00.html
 http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/183609 -1
 http://maulofamerica.blogspot.com/2008_01_01_archive.html
 http://undergroundvelvet.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/talkingpo
intsmemo2.png
 http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,20010914,00.html