Cross-posted from
michiganliberal.com
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"What hath God wrought?"
-Numbers 23:23, transmitted by Samuel Morse as the first telegraph message between Washington, DC and Baltimore on May 24, 1844
I just put in my two weeks notice. I'm cutting my day job back to half time so that I can become a semi-professional blogger. This is possible because of your support during this membership drive (which lasts until Sunday, BTW!
Click here to become a member!) Thanks to you, my dream is now becoming reality.
It's been a whirlwind ride. A year ago, I told my boss, (Michigan list guru) Mark Grebner, that I was going to start a political blog. "Oh, you've got a new hobby" he said - as a means of poohing-poohing the idea that something like this could ever be financially viable. Having known Mark for several years - and having worked FOR him for over a year now, I know that he's almost always right. But on this point I'm making it my mission in life to prove him wrong. And I think I will. For me, today, Michiganliberal.com is no longer just a hobby.
So what is this about - this blogosphere, this new and mysterious medium? It's a big day here at Michiganlib - for me anyway - so let's talk about it. Here, for your consideration, is the crude first draft of my manifesto.
Back in 1844, Samuel Morse figured out that if you ran a wire between two cities, you could (with the use of certain equipment) send a coded message almost instantly. It was a revolutionary discovery. But it wasn't for another 30 years until Alexander Graham Bell figured out how to send a human voice over the wire. It wasn't until well over a half-century later that people figured out how to send large quantities of data over these lines.
That evolutionary process didn't stop when Al Gore invented the Internets. It continues today. To put it another way, we haven't arrived at a summit. We're still going up the mountain. We now have the Internet, but we've hardly even begun to figure out how to use it.
In 2004, the blogosphere played a huge role in transforming Howard Dean from a bottom-tier "also-ran" candidate to a serious contender for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. While the infamous "scream" (and some other factors) put an end to Dean's candidacy, today he's chair of the Democratic National Committee. That fact should not be lost on anyone.
As significant as blogs were in 2004, it will pale in comparison to the effect about to be felt in mid-term state elections. Here in Michigan, I'm convinced we are standing on the cusp of a monumental and radical change in the way we practice politics. Those who recognize this will do well. Those who do not...will not do well.
Sound overblown? Outlandish? Let me explain.
Let's start with the status quo, which is to say the infamous MSM - or mainstream media. By this I mean television, radio, and newspapers. We'll start with broadcast media.
Let's face it. State politics and government is NOT a prime focus of ANY broadcaster in Michigan (save MGTV, which only operates between 10AM & 2PM on weekdays). Sure, some outfits belong to networks (Michigan Radio Network, the Michigan Public Radio Network, etc.), some actually have correspondents that sometimes cover the state Capitol, and sometimes they run spots or features dealing with state political issues. But at the end of the day, no Michigan broadcaster (except MGTV) focuses exclusively on Michigan politics or the State of Michigan, for that matter. The main function of commercial and public radio and TV stations is to run network programming off the satellite - sitcoms, Oprah, music, whatever. Everything else, while possible important, is secondary. There is not a Michigan-version of CNN or a cable TV news channel which focuses primarily on Michigan news. Nor is there a radio station which does this.
Conventional newspapers do a considerably better job of covering state political issues. But newspapers suffer from some of the same problems as broadcast media. State news will still usually - but not always - play second fiddle to the national situation. That's fine with me. It's important for people to know what's happening nationally and internationally. My only point here is that state issues are NOT the primary focus of most Michigan newspapers. State issues may be A focus. But they're not THE focus.
On top of the rivalry between Michigan-focused issues and national/international coverage, state issues have to compete with the sports page, local coverage, the classifieds, the business page, the "lifestyles" page (ESPECIALLY the lifestyles page...and growing all the time) - you name it. In other words, newspapers try to cover a whole lot of ground. Over the years, many newspapers have built up huge staffs to deal with all of these subject areas. They've also hired large numbers of people to deal with the printing process, the distribution process, and now...their websites. And for newspapers. the future does not look so hot.
Once upon a time, Detroit had three major daily newspapers: The Detroit Free Press, the Detroit News, and the Detroit Times. The Hearst-owned Times went bust in 1960 after TV first started chomping away at newspaper circulation. As we know all too well, the DFP & the DN now collude under their "joint operating agreement" signed in the 1990s. With Gannett's decision to get rid of the DN last year, it looks like the day is not far off when our state's largest city has only one newspaper (some would argue this is already the case).
Okay, so Michigan politics and government isn't the main focus of any broadcaster or any major newspaper. Big deal. So they smush Michigan news in with everything else (sometimes, anyway) - so what?
Well, here at Michiganliberal.com, Michigan politics and government IS our prime focus. And, while we'll most likely never have the readership that the Free Press has - probably never even close - that's OK. We don't have boxcars full of newsprint and distribution and delivery people to pay for. We also don't have a sports desk, a "lifestyle" desk, an "entertainment desk", and all of the other people either. We do Michigan politics and government. Period. Maybe someday we'll branch out into other areas...but not unless it makes sense and we're damn well ready to do it. Michiganliberal.com offers a specialized product: namely organically-organized discussion on Michigan politics and government.
Specialization. That will be the new name of the game. Before, people who were seriously interested in Michigan politics had only a handful of choices (Gongwer News Service, MIRS, and Inside Michigan Politics - to name a few), and they all cost a considerable amount of money. Only real insiders got them.
Michiganliberal.com doesn't replace any of these newsletters. But for the first time average folks who are REALLY interested in Michigan politics (from across the state and around the nation), and who find the state political coverage on TV, radio, and newspapers unsatisfying, have a place to go. And when they come here, not only can they read about politics, they can write about it and discuss it with other like-minded people too! They can also leave comments in real time (without having to wait a week or two for a butchered version of their letter to the editor to appear in print).
For people whose professional job involves Michigan politics (and this includes writers for the MSM), all of this has profound implications. No longer does information only spread over drinks at Club 621 or in one of the dark alcoves of the State Capitol - but it can spread, be checked, argued about, dispelled, or given new prominence all in public view. This is revolutionary. And we are only now just seeing the beginning.
So why do I think Michiganliberal.com and other blogs will have a larger impact in state races than they did in the 2004 election. Well, for one thing, more and more people are turning on to the Internet all the time. As new generations achieve political consciousness, they will have grown up with the Internet. Older generations of folks who still insist that they're "not computer people" will slowly die off. For another - and this gets back to what I was talking about before - there is a hunger (perhaps not huge - but there nonetheless) for information about state politics and government that is more current, detailed, and comprehensive that what is available from the MSM (which is - to say the least - limited). This demand, of course, will ebb and flow around election time. But in the final summation, when it comes to Michigan politics and government, we are highly specialized. The MSM is not. That gives us a major advantage.
Of course everything I'm writing here relates mainly to Michiganliberal.com. However, I suspect that here in Michigan we will soon begin to see the rise of other blog/communites similar to Michlib. Some may be liberal, some moderate, some conservative, and some which try to be neutral. Some will carve out a specific niche and establish themselves in the long term. Most won't.
So here I am, just two weeks away from turning over my fate (half of it, anyway) to the idea that this new medium can sustain itself (and me). Will it work? Obviously, I tend to think so. But I could be wrong. It's possible I may find I'm starving to death, and have to go get another gig elsewhere. Or perhaps some new site or technology will come along that completely changes the picture (though they'd have a lot of catching up to do!) Even if that were to happen, I have no doubt this revolutionary shift would continue. Just as Samuel Morse sent his first few clicks to Baltimore, we're now sending our first few clicks across the very fiber of how we practice politics. It can be very unnerving wondering if it's going to work. But I think it will. And today, thanks to you, we're no longer just running a website. We're truly changing the course of history...and we've only just begun.
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