John Kerry's campaign train passes a planned stop in Kansas, and the apology reported by CNN comes not from an interview or press release, but from the campaign blog."We raised our hand to wave, but the engineer hadn't slowed, and by the time we had waved even a little to the signs and cheers and camera flashes, it was dark again," wrote Edwards' wife, Elizabeth, on the campaign's Web log. "We sat frustrated, but we knew we were not as frustrated as the people of Lawrence, Kansas." Increasingly, the press is turning to blogs as primary sources. And blogs themselves have become the railways of the modern campaign, delivering a personal message directly to voters where they live. A snub is still a snub, and when hundreds of people show up in real-space after midnight to see you, you shouldn't whisk by at 19th Century speed. That's why John Edwards…
I saw "Outfoxed". Didn't do a lot for my respect for Bill O'Reilly. There's an excellent "Shut up!" montage. Much more significantly, the movie looks at Fox's 2:00 a.m. projection of a Bush win on Election Night 2000 (the one heavy-breathers enjoy noting was decided by Fox staffer and Bush cousin John Ellis). Did you know that Fox's call drove a domino-drop of projections by all the other networks in the ensuing minutes? One expert speculates that the projection created an influential climate of assumption about the Bush win, that hung over the Bush v. Gore court battle. The scary thing here isn't so much a partisan channel driving the story, but the idea that competition would outweigh considered reporting by everyone. I don't know enough to even speculate about whether that might have eventually affected Bush v. Gore, but the question reminded me of Jeff's New Republic article, "Disgrace."…
I heard a couple of ideas and stories at the Kettering Foundation last week that really got me thinking. In a discussion on the conducive conditions for democracy in a community, Lew Friedland used the phrase "civic ecology," i.e., the relationships between citizens, decision-makers, advocates and the media. This model for democracy-building feels rich in opportunity and loaded with fewer of the dangers than the terminology most decision-makers, advocates and journalists use. The first two groups are inevitably agenda-driven and their language usually reflects it. Decision-makers often promote public deliberation so they can "educate" citizens - an opaque term that can belie a more Orwellian agenda. Advocates are always trying to "reinvigorate" the public discourse and promote "engagement." The obvious problem there is that the language tends toward blaming the victim. The deeper problem, I think, is the implied narrative of uphill toil. There is the problem and we have…
Don't you love it? There warn't no Blogger's Alley at the 2000 conventions, I'll warrant. Check out this sleek collection of blog feeds at ConventionBloggers.com. I, alas, am in Northern California. But I can hardly complain ...
While MTV is having adventures in instantaneity, New York 1 is announcing that no rain is expected as I sit here looking at the raindrops brightening the black paint of the fire escape at my window. This particular reel was probably recorded hours ago. Even more annoying, it's playing on Headline News, where I turn not for local news, but for all the news. If I want NY1, I'll turn to NY1. Dunno... feels like cross-promotion to me, not a helpful service.