2. DRUDGE REPORT / MONICA-GATE
Newsweek editors refused to publish story on Lewinsky
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 the
col l ectiv e national 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 more wi del y -
av ail ibl e 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
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 forgeries
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.”
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 as VP nominee, blogs
began to circulate rumors about her recently born son,
Trig
The rumors, that Palin had faked her pregnancy to
cover up her daughter’s pregnancy, became vicious
and violent on some blogs
Did those bloggers 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
