Blogger mania

Ok. I know the conventions are stage-managed snoozers and all, but really, the media hype over bloggers covering the convention is getting ridiculous.

One reporter asked Jerome of MyDD what he would be covering at the convention. Jerome replied, "I'll be writing about you writing about me." It's getting to be that absurd.

Given the number of reporters I've spoken to the last two weeks, expect a crush of stories over the next few days about bloggers at the convention. And really, it's not that big of a deal. It's great that the party has rolled out the red carpet and sponsored blogger events and all, but the fact that a new medium is covering the event is as exciting a development as discovering that next week, radio will also be covering the convention.

Now, it turns out that Technorati will be feeding blogger commentary to CNN. I suppose that means the pressure is up. And I have to admit that I'm getting nervous about the expectations game. We bloggers are losing it.

We're expected to turn a stage-managed four-day infomercial into compelling theater. That's a tough assignment for anyone to fill.

•  Don't worry too much

  The Boston Globe has had compelling pre-convention coverage like whether there's "official" child care set up (I think that was on the front page), a guy who put up a Bush sign on his business near the Fleet Center (with photo) and visiting nurses deciding to bicycle to see clients next week. These were all big stories taking up lots of real estate.

  It's a pretty low bar....

  by firenze on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 12:33:00 PM PDT

  •  For people in Boston

    How the convention will affect daily life is an issue.

    by abbyv on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 12:55:38 PM PDT

  •  Kossian Interviewed

    I was just interviewed by a columnist for Newsday (or was it the Daily News?) about what would make the convention more compelling to watch. I said that since there would be no drama on who is nominated or what the platform will be, the main thing is to have a clear and strong statement of vision for the Democratic party. (I didn't mention this to her, but I think Kerry and Obama in particular can't come out with vague, everything-to-everybody sorts of speeches.)

    By the way, she didn't interview me as a Kossian, but as someone who had been heavily involved in the Dean campaign. I surprised her by saying that I thought the blogs could make it interesting by reporting more of the goings on at the ground-eye level and giving us perspectives we hadn't seen before. I don't think she was pleased to hear that.

    I have no idea if I'll be quoted, but if so it will be on Monday.

    by jd in nyc on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 02:26:26 PM PDT

  •  Be Yourself

    Just be yourself, Kos, and you'll be golden.
    Good luck!

    Jude

    by Iddybud on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 11:37:09 PM PDT

•  Jerome went pomo on that reporter

  by Lancaster on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 12:34:09 PM PDT

  •  What does "pomo" mean, please?

    Never seen that before, sorry.

    by paradox on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 12:51:25 PM PDT

    •  PoMo = Post Modern

      The whole "This Book has No Title" kind of feel.

      Very Connecticut born Skull & Bones raise New England Ivy League elitist -- thought I doubt George Bush paid attention that day.

      by Blithedale on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 12:58:15 PM PDT

•  Hah

  We're expected to turn a stage-managed four-day infomercial into compelling theater. That's a tough assignment for anyone to fill.

  ... he said, with a clever wink.  

  Hmm, dKos commentary headlining CNN.  Yeah, I think that's a good thing in my book.
  

  by ChicagoDem on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 12:35:34 PM PDT

•  Kos

  Don't fret it, and don't turn their interest down.  This is an opportunity to get out your ideas.  When they ask, "Why as a blogger do you think you contribute to the Convention?"  Answer: "Bloggers provide another means to share how Republican policies hurt Middle America, lead us into unsupported warfare, and make America a bigger target for terrorists."  In other words, use the opportunity to get out soundbites about the issues that count instead of about blogs and yourself.

  by seamus on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 12:35:34 PM PDT

  •  oops

    that last sentence of mine sounds like I think Kos is full of himself.  Not so.  I just meant that those questions are free media to educate folks on the issues - opportunities that should not be wasted on the minutia of blogging.

    by seamus on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 12:37:08 PM PDT

  •  in fact

    Kos, you should be finding other reporters and pitching blogging the convention as an interesting news story about a new technology of sorts meeting up with an old tradition.  And then use that free media to spread the political message/soundbite of the day.  Remember every time you see a reporter - you are competing with the DLC for their time.

    by seamus on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 12:39:35 PM PDT

    •  Right!

      Great point. And maybe the meta message that all bloggers put out ("Talking points. Say something enough, and it becomes true." Jon Stewart.)is something short and pithy about how you can't trust the SCLM. Blogging and the internet provide people who want the truth an opportunity to get it. Something like that.

      You all should coordinate your meta message and use it in every interview so the world, much of which knows nothing about blogging or that they are not getting the real story from our leaders or the SCLM, becomes aware of why they should care.

      It's not about technology, like some new kind of cell phone or some new thing "kids are doing these days". It's about access to truth. People don't realize this. You don't want to be dismissed in this way. It is about the democratization of information. "News" is no longer the exclusive province of a few corporations that select what we should know and package it for us. Now we all are reporters, investigators, etc.

      Then demonstrate it in your blogging from the convention. If there is no news happening, use the access to party leaders to ask hard questions and get the answers out.

      by Joan in Seattle on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 12:51:11 PM PDT

      •  excellent

        this is a great "pitch" that can help generate free media for the left/grassroots at the convention.  You also make the key point that if the reporters don't cover it the bloggers can.  An entirely new way for America to follow the conventions!  The convention is a huge microphone - the bloggers can help grab part of that microphone to get out their ideas on issues.

        by seamus on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 12:58:22 PM PDT

      •  Good points.

        And if you can, get in a comment about how people should not get all their news from one source. Better to read from several sources, whether blog or paper, look at conflicting ideas, form your own opinions.

        Encourage participation. Democracy is not a spectator sport.

        by Mnemosyne on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 01:32:41 PM PDT

      •  Keeping the SCLM honest...

        ... is the other point I would bring up. With bloggers like KOS there, I can expect to read what is going on that is important, which the SCLM will usually avoid or spin. The  Bloggers, as JOS pointed out, will to a certain extent be keeping the SCLM honest, at least the ones that still think they are in a "respected" profession; i.e.- It won't effect Faux "Programming" at all.

        That's the main reason I am happy the Bloggers will be there.

        by Alumbrados on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 02:50:28 PM PDT

      •  Careful

        Mainstream reporters covering the convention will be, for the most part, people who have risen up the hierarchy of corporate media elite and probably, consciously or not, know they are profiting from the old way of doing things.

        I'd suggest packaging the blogging message in a way that doesn't seem to be directly threatening those people's paychecks -- IF you want to increase the chance they'll see the light of day in the mainstream press.

        Bloggers can explain how blogs complement traditional media instead of positioning them as a replacement. That's not untrue; I doubt there are too many dailykos junkies who don't also read a newspaper [whether online or on paper] and/or watch TV. In fact, people here are among the most regular, motivated and analytical readers of conventional media.

        It's about the sharing of information in new and exciting ways; and also a way for people to not simply receive news passively, but to ACT effectively at the grassroots level. (definitely mention the fundraising successes at the Senate and Congressional levels).

        Blogging is truly interactive news.
        

        by firenze on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 03:26:09 PM PDT

  •  Good Idea And

    Talk about how the blogs provide a way for the Party to connect with the grass roots.  How a community like this can generate discussion and ideas.  And don't forget to talk about the DKos 8 plus others and how you, Jerome and Steve Yellin, plus a host of local people, get out information on the most interesting and promising congressional races and how you and other bloggers have raised money for these candidates--put people from all over the country in touch on issues of common interest, or just provided an easy way to research candidates and donate money.  (We all know the bigwigs are always impressed to hear about money.)  

    For the media the big thing is how the blogs provide access to information that the big media, with their herd journalism and unwillingness to rock the boat, won't cover.  When people say, "but can you believe everything on the internet", just throw the pre-Iraq war drumbeat of nonsense we got from the media and their total failure to exercise andy skepticism.  Of course WE know how to evaluate information.  Do they?

    If you're going in the wrong direction and you stay the course, where, exactly, do you wind up?

    by Mimikatz on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 02:04:21 PM PDT

•  Blogging Bloggers

  Kos,

  Stay loose, have a good time and we'll have a good time with you.  Of course, the rest of us bloggers will be blogging you while you blog the convention.

  by Melanie on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 12:35:43 PM PDT

  •  I am getting a headache....

    trying to figure out who is blogging what blogs that are blogging the media who are blogging the blogs who are blogging the convention which has invited blogs to blog at the convention for the first bloggity blog.  
    

    by Delaware Dem on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 01:59:01 PM PDT

•  Given the near total lack of TV coverage

  You and the other bloggers may be the only ones offering anything resembling informed and interesting coverage.
  
  TV and radio will offer whatever out-takes they thing are interesting - devoid of context. Print media will offer dry and ostensibly "objective" coverage.
  
  Given the low expectations for the impact and effectiveness of traditional media outlets, it's small wonder that the bloggers are drawing a lot of attention.
  
  Besides, your individual performance is perhaps less critical to the impact than what you stir up among the rest of us nutcases hovering over our keyboards at home.
  
  Good luck, Kos! Hope your servers can handle the load during the convention prime-time!

  Visualize Whirled Peas

  by Hoya90 on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 12:36:15 PM PDT

  •  Yeah, treat it like Aburdist Theatre

    Be Carl Reiner interviewing The Perfesser, (or mebbe Pogo.)

    Oh, I suppose I could say something serious, like the bit about telling the human stories of ordinary democrats to counter all the Wild-Eyed Crunchy stories the mass-media will produce is excellent advice. Or point out that you can tell the So-called "free press" that what sets us apart is 1) speed 2) responsiveness - we're interactive, we self-correct, we assume our readers are smart and will fact-check us on the double, unlike the top-down broadcast model of the past.

    You could also play up the "cradle of liberty" aspect and how unpopular the original Revolutionaries would be with the SCLM today - try to imagine Tweety and O'Reilly dealing with Sam Adams, for instance - kind of compare and contrast thing. And point out that Boston does have a pretty working public transportation system, for the Common Good and all, and they're not rabid bomb-throwing Commies, so why can't the rest of cities in the USA have one?

    But don't stress about it, just take in what you can and figure that you're there to bring a personal perspective, someone we know and trust. Con Reports are always fun, even if they just consist of 'and I was four feet away from George Takei and Jane Yolen gave a great talk and I got my picture taken with Viggo Mortensen" - who, if the DCC were really cool and with it, I must add, they would have gotten as a Con GoH.

    Of course that would have caused a whole nuther set of security problems, what with the screaming fangirls of all ages...

    by bellatrys on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 09:12:09 PM PDT

•  hey kos

   just go to the hotels resturant for breakfast and wait for all the operatives to deliver you the morning talking points from both sides and report that.Thats what all the so caled bigwigs in the media did in Iowa and New hampshire.Then at night find the bar that they all pick so you can have a drink with them and listen to how hard they worked that day.No need at all to talk to the riff-raff or accually go find a story.

  by ctkeith on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 12:36:21 PM PDT

•  Good luck Markos

  Just do what you always do, and write the way you always write - believe me it will be good enough.

  by Dr Dive on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 12:36:52 PM PDT

•  oh you're loving the attention

  the gold lines on your web page are glowing a bit on my PC

  Have fun, gives us on the ground stuff like I talked to a volunteer from OH and they set up this neat thing, etc.  stuff like that would be cool.

  by gaspare on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 12:37:08 PM PDT

•  Billy Mays needs to cover it

  He makes any infomercial exciting.

  by jaslusher on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 12:37:22 PM PDT

  •  but wait, there's more!

    but you gotta call now!
    

    by claw on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 01:04:54 PM PDT

•  Don't misunderestimate yourself

  It is exciting that the bloggers will be covering the convention. One day history books will speak of how the bloggers saved democracy.

  by Zackpunk on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 12:37:53 PM PDT

•  stage management

  Bloggers are just another part of that stage management.  The media coverage of bloggers is just a way for them to, in a very managed way, add a new element to a story that gets told every four years.  It's kind of like playing a Coltrane tune on the clarinet instead of the saxophone.

  by Lancaster on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 12:38:42 PM PDT

•  go bulworth on 'em kos!

  by scottesposito on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 12:39:34 PM PDT

•  We're here to help!

  If we can't help you turn it into good theater, I don't know if it can be done.

  by cvcobb01 on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 12:41:18 PM PDT

•  New and Improved

  Of course the media is going nuts over bloggers at the convention; they're the only thing that's new. Every other thing that happens will be something that has happened before.
  

  by Ray Radlein on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 12:42:45 PM PDT

•  domestic group to target DNC????

  why am I seeing this story on Yahoo and nowhere else? Anybody else heard anything?

  by magic1 on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 12:50:34 PM PDT

  •  They made mention of it on TV today

    can't remember if it was CNN or CSpan...
    

    by jillian on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 01:00:09 PM PDT

  •  Mentioned on NPR this am. (nt)

    by Joan in Seattle on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 01:01:21 PM PDT

  •  It's been around since late yesterday afternoon

    Drudge had it last night, it's on the local radio and I think you can see it various places via Google News.

    Basically the FBI just wants the media to know that maybe or maybe not there might or might not be some reason for them to worry about their lives as they are trying to pay attention to the Democrats.

    And it's a "domestic group" because the FBI wouldn't want anyone to feel we aren't [strong]safer[/strong] now thanks to John Ashcroft.

    by Blithedale on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 01:02:02 PM PDT

  •  Right wing columnists...

    Bill O'Lielly, Ann Coulter, Hannity et al will be putting M80s into the tailpipes of cars belonging to the Liberal Media...payback for "OutFoxed"...

    by Wintermute on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 02:02:53 PM PDT

•  Set up a special Tucker Carlson Sucks Diary

  or Bob Novak's a Traitor Diary...

  Let them track those comments.

  by jillian on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 12:56:26 PM PDT

•  The Bogs Are Scaring The hell

  out of the media and all the media whores.  Not only are they losing viewers - CNN is down 56 per cent - they realize intelligent people are turning to blogs for real news, honest reporting, opinion and community they don't provide.

  They just hate that! Think of all the ads going unviewed.

  Heheheh.

  Yup, people are turning to blogs and this is the best one.  You're just flexing a little muscle here.

  Go for it!

  by mattman on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 12:57:21 PM PDT

  •  Oh, And The Blogs As Well

    as the "bogs" are scaring them too.

    by mattman on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 01:00:29 PM PDT

    •  Bogs are scary.

      So are blogs. I'm 45 and my very intelligent friends don't know what they (blogs)are and think they don't have time for them. They read a variety of news sources and are skeptical. Not Fox viewers.

      Are blogs accessible enough for people who don't spend a lot of time on the internet? Can they be made more digestible for a quick, twice-a-day check in? Is there a good place for that kind of entree into the world of blogs?

      How does someone who doesn't want to read so much and get into so much discussion as we do here best use the blogosphere?

      by Joan in Seattle on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 01:07:18 PM PDT

      •  Some of the blogs

        work better for that -- the ones that seem to only have a once or twice a day update. I've barely scratched the surface of the blogosphere (dKos is the only one I check on a regular basis), but from what I've seen, a good entry into the blog world would be possibly Atrios, Tom Tomorrow, Patridiots, maybe some others.

        dKos is one that needs to be checked every 30 seconds or so, it seems like; I usually only get to peruse it during the day, and miss so much when I'm home in the evenings. Start your friend off slow and work up gradually.

        I'm also 45, and totally love the blog world; I'm trying to introduce my 74-year old liberal dad-in-law to the phenomenon.
        

        by Cali Scribe on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 02:14:11 PM PDT

        •  The Gadflyer

          A good place to start with people who are uncomfortable with big blogs like Kos - it's more like a traditional newspaper with articles etc.  And the two blogs that are on the site are easier to follow than most.  Clean format too which doesn't scare many tech savvy people.

          by tyelperion on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 04:17:48 PM PDT

        •  TPM

          Josh Marshall's Talking Points Memo is also a good entry point for folks more used to regular media. It's good, solid journalism, single POV, with no rough-and-tumble comments section. I suspect that it's one of the most widely-read blogs inside the beltway (well, after Wonkette, of course).

          by Ray Radlein on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 08:03:46 PM PDT

      •  whoops, link

        The Gadflyer

        by tyelperion on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 04:24:31 PM PDT

•  Infotainment

  Infomercial, infotainment, whatever.

  I saw an article in the SF Chron this AM about how the convention was a drag because it was not filled with uncertainty and drama.  No, it isn't, but that does not make it...here is a strange concept that seemes to have been abandoned...newsworthy.

  So, be honest, be direct, be yourself.  Don't YOU go worrying about making drama out of it, just let your usual insights and interesting guide you.  F CNN and their feed!  Be yourself.  It's good enough for us.

  As for the "new medium" thing - well, it is and it is interesting.  Like when TV first came to the conventions.

  by Long Haul on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 12:59:45 PM PDT

•  Blogosphere's Impact

  Reading kos's post reminded me of an article I read a couple of years ago talking about radio's impact when it covered it's first convention in 1924.  Coincidentally enough the first convention to be covered by radio was the 1924 Democratic convention in New York.  It was William Jennings Bryan's last convention and the first time his voice was publically broadcast.  The radio phenomenon parralleled almost exactly the way the Internet bubble expanded exponentially before it burst.  Radio was the precursor of the same phenomenon as it's bubble grew at an unprecedented rate before it crashed in the late twenties.  It finally grew into it's place as the electronic medium it became before TV where once again media coverage of the conventions changed again with the advent of TV.

  I'm not suggesting the blogging community will have the same effect.  But it won't be marginal either.  It will change how conventions are covered to some extent for those that want more than the commerical interests are willing to give.

  DuvalDem,

  by DuvalDem on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 01:00:38 PM PDT

•  Markos, A Suggestion

  FWIW, I think you have a particular opportunity to make a splash, by highlighting that which you have created.  What do I mean -

  (1) Your creation of this Community.  The Convention is all the things you say - what insight, or something extra, can you bring?  Well, besides you excellent analytical skills, you bring a large community who will congregate to share reactions to events at the Covention - the speeches, the platform, the other things that you bring to our attention.

  I suggest incorporating that in your coverage - bring forth those issues, as they are presented at the Convention - let's discuss them in real time.  We're a heck of a focus group I'd think.

  (2) You have an ability to contrast the reactions at the Convention wit reactions here.  Do they diverge?  Why?  Does it matter?

  (3)  And of course, real time and comprehensive reporting, that won't be done with other forms of media.  Of course, this attribute is not distinct to dkos.

  by Armando on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 01:02:21 PM PDT

•  Don't Let "em Set Expectations for You

  What I would love to hear, that we never will hear from the SCLM, is real grassroots stories--let's see if these delegates are really activists or just party hacks (there's probably some of both) and how they feel the Dems are or are not representing them on the issues.

  Who gives a hoot what the "major" media think. They've done a crappy job of covering conventions for years and most everything they say is in their self interest, not yours or the blog world's. So ignore 'em.

  by bramish on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 01:02:45 PM PDT

  •  The people should be the story

    Talk to the "real people" there - the low-level delegates who are probably high-level activists in their home-town Democratic Party.  Put together a survey or standard list of questions, and get their answers.  Do an informal poll on a couple of issues, like gay marriage, national health care, education funding, national security, etc.  

    That's the only thing left to report, really - find some up-and-comers or some folks who have been working in the vineyard for a while and tell THEIR stories.

    Plus, this will show that the Democratic coalition is made of real people, with jobs and mortgages and families, not some "liberal elite."

    by FrankNstein on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 04:05:00 PM PDT

•  Never forget

  That if it wasn't for the unprecedented collapse of the mainstream media 99% of us bloggers wouldn't even have to exist. Don't let them forget it Kos - I know the adulation is great for the ego but the last thing we need right now is for you to get soft. Keep doing what you've been doing, keeping them honest.

  by Josh Prophet on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 01:03:25 PM PDT

•  Relax Kos

  If you have a good time and tell us about it as your friends, we'll have a good time. Let it be more about vicariously experiencing the convention through you than about journalism or theatre. Don't let anybody put ridiculous expectations on you; you're fundamentally there as a private citizen. There is appeal and interest simply in the fact that you don't work for anybody.

  by Elizabeth D on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 01:12:35 PM PDT

•  Pressure on Diary writers too

  To maintain the insight and cleverness of past work here, and to try to avoid the "post a link"/"lookit this" variety of diaries.  

  Remember, many people will be visiting the site for the first time.  If they look at a diary, they'll likely pick one at random.  If it's good, maybe they'll look at more.

  by dbratl on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 01:13:56 PM PDT

  •  Another aspect of this.

    I remember during the primaries, when I hung out a lot on Dean's blog, something interesting happened. One of the regular bloggers got quoted in the mainstream media (Newsweek, I think). All of a sudden Dean's blog would occasionally get these posters using the "I'm a huge Dean supporter but I just heard he eats puppies and now I'm not so sure" meme. Naturally, just like here, the regular readers can spot a troll a mile away, but I got really pissed when the NY Times made mention of "concern being voiced among Dean's supporters on his blog" or some such nonsense. I suspect that when mainstream media starts putting the spotlight on the blogs, Kos and others will get bombarded w/ troll dung in just the same way. Just a heads up.

    by red87 on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 02:14:41 PM PDT

•  report on the reporters

  I kind of like the idea of writing about what everyone else is writing. Since most people don't go to these things, we have to take for granted what reporters report but bloggers (having been there) are in a unique position to tell us "so and so is full of shite"(which is what bloggers do a lot of anyway).

  so rock on Kos.  We look forward to your reports.

  by DawnG on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 01:18:25 PM PDT

•  Well

  ...just do what you always do.  Who gives a damn about the rest of the media, really?

  Maybe they'll learn a thing or two :)

  by OrdinaryVanity on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 01:20:04 PM PDT

•  Don't Trivialize

  Resist the pressure to look inward, and use the spotlight to highlight failing economic stats, rising casualties in Iraq, etc.  The world keeps turning while the Dems party.

  Real seriousness and lack of self-absorption would indeed be newsworthy.

  by Athena on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 01:25:24 PM PDT

•  Training Time

  What are bloggers supposed to do at this year's convention?  I say just lay low, have a good time, and keep your eyes and ears open.  You folks are the mechanism that allowed an amazing grass roots organizing and fund raising effort to gel earlier this political season.  Political and media people all up and down the system are talking about how you changed the face of politics for good (and forever).  You did that largely because grass roots organizing and general political activism are known entities and familiar turf.  You knew how they worked and were therefore able to transform them.  Now you're going to learn how political conventions really work.  I suspect that you will use that information to change the face (and hopefully the nature) of future political conventions.  This is just training time.  The real impact comes in four years.  Enjoy Boston.  

  by gheimdal on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 01:32:09 PM PDT

•  Kos, you'll be fabulous.

  I want to hear about you and James Carville sitting on the floor sharing a joint and discussing mass transit.

  by vachon on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 01:34:36 PM PDT

•  theatre shmeatre...

  but make it Compelling to be sure.
   All those hard truths about the media's role in this war - the way opinion is diseminated as fact in the mainstream media - i.e. More than half of Americans still believe WMD's have been found - Yesterday's report finds no ties betwen Iraq and 9/11 and that's not even being mentioned. Since these are the main two reasons (supposedly) for sending good American to kill and e killed, maim and be maimed, shouldn't there be a lot more outrage?

  by karlpk on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 01:45:25 PM PDT

•  We should come up with questions for kos

  Maybe we should have a daily dairy about questions for kos to ask and/or find info out about.  Kinda like giving kos the bloggers talking points memo.

  Some of the points raised above are right on.  and in every interveiw I, personally, would like kos to say that the media won't cover certain issues and activites, and so the bloggers must.

  by GrandmaJ on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 01:46:45 PM PDT

•  Oh, c'mon

  kos, really quit with the modesty already.  If you really didn't care, you wouldn't be bloggin about it.  Hey, this is history.  Hey, blogs are making us freer.  This is monumental.  It's an honor to be a part of history current and future.  Get with the program.

  by nolalily on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 01:50:44 PM PDT

•  Hahahaha

  One reporter asked Jerome of MyDD what he would be covering at the convention. Jerome replied, "I'll be writing about you writing about me." It's getting to be that absurd.

  C'mon, this is pretty funny. I mean, you're writing about Jerome talking about writing about a reporter writing about Jerome.

  Where is the line between post-modernism and flat out farce, anyway?

  by Bill Rehm on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 01:56:41 PM PDT

•  so many issues are lied about...

  that's why we're here. With the help of guys like kos and Atrios and Billmon and Alterman and the list includes another 40 or 50 (for me) from around the world, we all go looking for the story and everyone does what they can to try and keep the media accountable for what it reports as truth. Jon Stewart winning that news award says it all - one would think.
   A lot of us are wonks and reading and researching is what we do as a matter of course, and we post links and we share our opinions, discuss and argue.
   Show 'em the blogosphere at it's best. I repeat, theatre shmeatre.
  

  by karlpk on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 01:58:21 PM PDT

•  Why Bloggers at DNC Are a BIG Deal

  The mainstream media are muzzled, every microphone holder and camera pointer predictable, every broadcast interviewer asking those cute horse-race questions, every interviewee bound to reflect the extraordinary unity and resolve of the party.

  What if Bloggers aren't with the script?

  It's the only unknown, except whether the police union will be picketing just for the hell of it.

  by easong on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 02:02:16 PM PDT

  •  Wonder if....

    Chimpco will allow bloggers at the Rethuglican convention?  BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA

    by Wintermute on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 02:08:31 PM PDT

•  Blogger performance anxiety (bpa)

  Bloggers are worried about how they will perform at the Democratic convention. Keep Mencken in mind:

  " No other entertainment gave him greater pleasure than reporting from the conventions; nor did anyone appreciate his efforts more than Mencken himself. One reporter, peering through Mencken's window late at night after one rally, recalled watching him at work alone in his hotel room, pounding out copy on a typewriter propped on a desk. He would type a few sentences, read them, slap his thigh, toss his head back, and roar with laughter. Then he would type some more lines, guffaw, and so on until the end of the article."

  The great man himself said: "We live in a land of abounding quackeries, and if we do not learn how to laugh we succumb to the melancholy disease which afflicts the race of viewers-with-alarm... "

  There is no greater show on earth--enjoy it!

  Dr. Wu
  

  by Dr Wu on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 02:07:59 PM PDT

•  Ignore such expectations

  good reporting is honest and hype free and stands in stark contrast to most major media as we well know. Don't get sucked into the intake. The tar baby awaits.

  by moon in the house of moe on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 02:09:29 PM PDT

•  DNC -- The Blogger Olympics?

  What if Josh Marshall blows the pants off Atrrios? What if Kos chokes on Clinton night? What if Drudge sneaks in on a forged Iranian media pass? Oh, the pressure.

  by easong on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 02:14:04 PM PDT

•  Really

  Are you/we going to be influenced by talking heads/hacks? I come here for the real and research every good point made.Talk about the pulse of America. It is here. The important news will be the constant FAILING spin against the Dems. Be like Whoopi and Margeret Cho, and follow Bush's creedo "Bring It On!"

  by JoeyC on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 02:16:09 PM PDT

•  Have fun

  We're expected to turn a stage-managed four-day infomercial into compelling theater. That's a tough assignment for anyone to fill.

  Just make shit up.  Works for the media.

  You know, like make up a story about how a Kerry delegate was rude to you.  Or about a gay marriage performed on the convention floor.  Or that everybody drinks wine with their pinkies sticking out.

  by NTodd on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 02:24:15 PM PDT

•  no worries

  just use the word "fuck" a bunch and we'll be mollified.

  by praktike on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 02:27:08 PM PDT

•  Erskine Bowles Blog

  Erskine Bowles' campaign has launched a new blog.

  www.bowles2004.com/weblog

  They need some increased traffic, so let's help them out!

  by KickinIt on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 02:36:24 PM PDT

•  BLOGGY BIASES

  With all the mainstream media attention on bloggers it's a good opportunity to make a point about covert vs overt bias in reportage. The criticism of blogs is all about how unobjective they are. For instance the San Francisco Chronicle's daily TV reporter today says:
  

  There will also be a myriad of bloggers running about, feeding back "news" breathlessly to people who, quite frankly, either believe that the mainstream media is being force-fed news by the government in some grand conspiracy or simply prefer bias and don't give a whit about notions of objectivity.

  
  http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/07/23/DDGMN7QSJ61.DTL

  So as Kos keeps up the work of pointing out the biases in network reporting as well as what's missing there, he can also introduce a discussion of media bias to new blog-watchers who maybe have an idea that Fox is evil but CBS, NYT, PBS, CNN et al are transparent and bias-free and therefore more trustworthy than those hysterical bloggers.

  by dsb on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 02:36:36 PM PDT

  •  Kos is a Rove plant

    http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/6/17/112055/818

    by JoeyC on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 02:42:19 PM PDT

•  Erskine Bowles Blog

  Erskine Bowles' campaign has launched a new blog.

  www.bowles2004.com/weblog

  They need some increased traffic, so let's help them out!

  by KickinIt on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 02:36:47 PM PDT

•  Journalists are threatened...

  by the blogosphere.
   Thet try to underplay it, (at least in print and on air) and it's importance every chance they get. Hell, then anyone can be a journalist and if they can't be bought out by Murdoch et.al we'll have anarchy - or some such nonsense.

  kos you have the opportunity to help raise so many issues The impugning of Mr. Berger's reputation this very week - a man who has served his country ably and honourably isn't afforded the benefit of the doubt? Why is that? Does this reflect Conservative values or Republican meanness?

   Any insider knew that had there been anything like a sinister cover up, or anything resembling treason the commission would have have grilled him about it during his testimony to the panel. Still they rushed onto their podiums and spouted tripe about Mr. Berger for partisan advantage.
   For him a congressional investigation for Cheney/Haliburton nothing.  
   These GOP point men knew that Mr. Berger's laxity in the handling of said documents happened previous to his appearance before the 9/11 committee so they have no excuses for their mendacities.
   Now, the way the story was spun all week long people will believe there were indeed sinister motives on Mr. Berger's part. The airwaves have been full of i, and people wil believe the worst of the lies - Hannity's, O'Reilley's, Coulter's.
   Working people are too busy to keep abreast of all the arcane details - and the fact that most Americans still  believe there were WMD's and ties to al-Queda speaks to my point. The media has misinformed us. That's why there are blogs.
   Thank god for blogs!

   

  by karlpk on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 03:21:38 PM PDT

•  Fairness...

  Since the ending of the fairness doctrine in media in the 1980's, there is no balance in the reporting of the issues of the day.
   This has to stop.
   There are real issues that need attending to. The economy for one. Corporate profits are up 62% during Bush's so-called recovery while real income adjusted for inflation has decreased by a tick of a pct. point - no recovery for those who aren't in the top 2% He has not created a single job on his watch - he's rewarded those who outsource jobs with tax breaks - It goes on and on. Why is his job approval over 40% - what has the President done right?

   How about the reporting on the 9/11 report? No one's focusing on chapter 8 of the 9/11 report and what it means yet. Atrios and some of his regulars already have - and by the by, it turns out that Richard Clarke was wrong, the Bush administration weren't asleep, they were comatose.
   There's Plame, and Cheney/Haliburton - still nothing concrete being done about these and other scandals which were it Clinton...

  kos, knock 'em dead bubba!

  by karlpk on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 03:41:06 PM PDT

•  Kos

  I have utter faith in you...you are the Thomas Paine of the 21st century.  :)

  by Momagainstthedraft on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 04:39:00 PM PDT

  •  great sig line, btw. n/t

    by a gilas girl on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 07:58:04 PM PDT

•  What would Hunter S. Thompson Do?

  Always amazing, the accumulated wisdom contributed by this community!

  The folks who set up the invite for the bloggers must be feeling a certain anxiousness--what if it gets out that the conventions have all the consequence of a zamboni at an ice skating competition?

  by markitos on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 07:00:54 PM PDT

•  suggestion

  if you are expected to turn this into "compelling theatre" why not turn the tables on the conventional media and bring your readers into the convention, rather than just bringing the convention out to them?  After all, isn't that the one thing that the mainstreat media doesn't have (that relationship?)

   

  by a gilas girl on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 07:39:19 PM PDT

•  Video Killed The Radio Star

  That's the first video played when MTV went live.... then MTV  proceeded to change the music world as we know it...or at least it did for me.

  Now we have Blogs at the DNC and much is being made about them...not sure that everyone outside of the blogosphere knows exactly WHAT they are...but damn it, they're here and they're not going away.

  So what song is fitting for this momentous occasion?

  My choice :

  Switchfoot "Ammunition".

  Party on Markos and the rest of you...you're making history!

  by calichick on Fri Jul 23, 2004 at 10:01:43 PM PDT

•  Two possibilities

  I think there are two possiblilties here:

  1. The media is hyping bloggers because it's the only "news" they've got. Really, what's different about this convention? The only new wrinkle I can see is that bloggers got invited. Whoop de doo.
  2. It's a set-up. Remember, many of those "real" journalists and ighly-paid pundits look down their noses at us unwashed amateurs. Well, this could be a trap: "Bloggers get invited to convention and produce nothing but trivial navel-gazing. Piss on bloggers."

  Scenario (1) is much more likely, since it presupposes laziness or incompetence instead of malevolence, always a safe bet.

  by goatchowder on Sat Jul 24, 2004 at 03:35:48 AM PDT

•  Boston, just training for New York

  Look, unless the wingnuts seize puppies and eat them, not much is going to happen on the floor. More will happen on the streets, but considering far more bloggers will be outside than in, I would expect the coverage to play up things off the floor.

  Basically, four days of coverage of the floor would bore me. One day to check it out, three days to start looking at policy issues.

  Some people will be caught up in the show, some by the celebrity. It will be a gut check for a lot of people, but it will be nothing compared to New York, where the opposition to the GOP will be pretty intense.

  Everyone is prattling on about how blogging will make something out of a convention. Which is comical, unless people find stories, and some will and some won't. But the real test is when the GOP hit New York. No hotel rooms, no access to the floor, and lots of angry people.

  by stevegilliard on Sat Jul 24, 2004 at 04:13:36 AM PDT