All Things Considered on blogging

Last night NPR’s All Things Considered ran a story last night about how campaign blogs and “independent” blogs (their choice of words) will affect the 2004 election and politics more generally. Their abstract says: Online web logs are a resource for political junkies of every political bent. Candidates blog, their campaigns blog, volunteers blog, and ...

By , a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast.

Last night NPR’s All Things Considered ran a story last night about how campaign blogs and “independent” blogs (their choice of words) will affect the 2004 election and politics more generally. Their abstract says:

Last night NPR’s All Things Considered ran a story last night about how campaign blogs and “independent” blogs (their choice of words) will affect the 2004 election and politics more generally. Their abstract says:

Online web logs are a resource for political junkies of every political bent. Candidates blog, their campaigns blog, volunteers blog, and countless observers blog, too. It remains to be seen how the political blogs will influence the campaign process.

You can listen to it here. Having already heard it, I have two thoughts:

  • Never have I heard a voice drip with more condescension than when the NPR announcer provides the lead-in with the opening sentence, “John Kerry has a blog.” As part of a transcript, the line reads as neutral as the color beige. On air, the tone of voice says, “let’s see how bemused I can sound about this phenomenon that may be important in the future but as of now is still insignificant enough to be mocked.” [Maybe he was being condescending about Kerry and not blogs!—ed. Hmmm…. That could be a possibility, with poll numbers like this.]
  • I like Josh Marshall’s point (about 3:20 into the piece) about “choice audiences.” That’ll have to go into the blog paper.
  • Tomorrow morning on WBEZ’s Eight Forty-Eight program (which airs from 9:30 AM to 10:00 AM Chicago time), I will be commenting on blogs as a new media form. Blogs will be discussed, however.

    Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner

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