Tag: BLOGWARS–the Book

There are plenty of reasons to side with either view of Dr. David Perlmutter's "Blogwar by Balkanization" thesis: One could cite many examples, as he does in his book "Blogwars," arguing for or against this way of looking at political partisanship in blogs and new media. Are the contributors and users of political new media warring partisans, constantly at odds with each other and tearing at each other's thoughts – and throats? Or is that same group of contributors and lurkers seeking information to strengthen their views or finding information that enhances and increases their political knowledge and efficacy? There was a time when one could easily argue for Balkanization, that political bloggers and other creators and users of new media were hyper-partisan, hostile toward and nastily at odds with each other (or perhaps less dramatically, fervently devoted to posting content attacking and questioning the opposition). Indeed, "bloggers tend to be both more passionate about their politics and more partisan than the average voter"...

Are blogs and similar forms of interactive media responsible for the Balkanization of the American political body? Certainly plenty of evidence exists to show the rifts are wide. Blogs are divided between left leaning versions, such as the extremely powerful Daily Kos, and those on the right, including the Drudge Report and Red State. The divide isn’t limited to online interactive media, however. Fox Newsserves a population that wants an alternative to what has been described as a liberal media bias in broadcast. Radio talk shows serve a similar purpose. Political books and movies speak to alternative visions. People have plenty of opportunities to hear, read and view opinions similar to their own. In blogs and other forms of OSIM, they have the opportunity to express their views and trade observations with like-minded people. The problem is this: very few people are talking across the divide. Agenda Setting Agenda Setting theory posits that media do not dictate what people think, but they do dictate what people think about. In the days...

History tends to repeat its self far to often and usually in a way that people do not realize is a repeat. Blogs and other Online Social Interactive Media (OSIM) is creating a bigger divide in politics and partisanship. There is a catch though, this is not anything new, in fact it is history reverting to how politics used to be. One could argue that we have recently lived in a relatively partisan media free environment and that in its self is a historical anomaly. In the book Blog Wars by Dr. David Perlmutter a chapter is dedicated to the argument and counter argument that blogs and OSIM’s are deepening the divide in partisan politics. Not to assert my opinion into this post, but I do agree. These new online media sources, be blogs or partisan media sites, such ashuffingtonpost.com, moveon.org or townhall.org, provide readers with partisan information but called news. Now these sites do relay the information, but in a skewed and partisan way....