Page 66 - Battleground The Media Volume 1 and 2

Blogosphere: Pol t cs and Internet Journal sm |

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Robert A. Hackett

BlogosPhere: PolitiCs and internet JournalisM

Today’s blogs reflect a style of politics and the press that was a major force in
American society almost to the time of the Civil War. At the same time, they are
showing how quickly and effectively new technologies can be used to affect con-
temporary affairs. Certainly, since the start of the 2004 presidential campaign,
the blogs have become an increasingly important part of the American political
landscape.

BaCkgrounD

Over the last quarter of the twentieth century, both news media and political
organizations in America became more and more centralized, the former to the
point where they were associated almost exclusively with New York City, the lat-
ter with Washington, DC. Technological innovations, particularly in the area of
communications, made it more financially attractive to consolidate ownership
of news media operations and allowed political leaders to remain in close touch
with supporters a long distance away. Though more efficient, these changes also
led to increased alienation from both news media and politics on the part of the
average American.
At the same time, the debates of the nation began to be used by the news
media for ratings. No longer were they as interested in the quest for solution.
Both politicians and the news media participated in this, the politicians to
stake out a definable public image and the news media defining the debates as
entertainment, looking for continued conflict (and, therefore, continued view-
ership) instead of progress toward resolution. Much of this left the public de-
cidedly cold.
When the blogs appeared, they provided a link back to another era of Ameri-
can politics and journalism, a time of direct popular participation in both, but
one that began to disappear as the Civil War approached. In the early years of
the American republic, newspaper editors were directly involved in the politi-
cal process. In fact, their newspapers were the networks that allowed for the