Man, They Really Don't Get It
by Chris Bowers, Fri Oct 08, 2004 at 01:44:52 PM EDT
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. presidential campaign between George W. Bush and John Kerry has prompted a frenzy of gossip and conspiracy theories among Internet bloggers, hybrid online sites that blend news, gossip and opinion.
That's partly true. Blogs do indeed blend news, gossip and opinion. However, he left out analysis, community and, most importantly, action. In fact, the action part is so hard for them to grasp that when they do mention it, it is simply seen as a sign of partisanship: Many bloggers have been so partisan that they have even raised money for the candidate of their choice -- something that has led most media watchers to take much of what appears on the sites with more than a grain of salt. I'll write this yet again: we make no pretensions of "objectivity," and we are not trying to replace traditional media. The left-wing political blogosphere has been, for quite some time now, an independent, collaborative, freeform news and analysis project that is geared primarily toward agitation and action. We are not trying to do the same thing that Reuters, CNN and the Washington Post claim to be doing. We are not just trying to present information and let those who consume it decide for themselves. Our content is actively geared toward political organizing.Speaking of which, here is a list of polls to stuff tonight, and here is a list of emails for people and institutions you can contact. Here is a group fact-checking project for rapid response, and here is another collective, fact-checking, rapid response project.. You should bookmark them all. Three hours and counting.
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