Given the plethora of blogs and bloggers proliferating in the wake of Rathergate--has the paradigm for how we get our news changed for the better? Does blogging represent a truly interactive form of journalism where the masses are no longer required to dumbly graze among the well-fertilized fields of politically motivated editorializing that so often is presented as unbiased reporting? Will the MSM continue in the face of this new phenomenon or has blogging finally announced the death-knell of campaigning-as-reporting that modern news divisions have embraced as their raison d'etre? What about those unfortunate souls that lack access to alternate sources of information--those that are stuck with only the MSM? How will blogging affect the news that they receive? Will it even affect it at all?
How about Congressional blogs as a means for near real time Representative-Constituent interaction? Could blogs become the tool by which the American people finally reign in their elected officials by acquiring constant feedback regarding the official actions taken and votes cast on their behalf? Imagine the interaction of the elected with the electorate as the awareness of the people is connected to a responsive and self-adjusting medium in which professional spin doctors have little or no time to influence the transmission of data from Representative to Constituent. Tardy postings by elected officials may become grounds for further scrutiny and closer interaction with citizens concerned that their wishes are not being addressed. Voting records will become a topic of daily discussion rather than mere fodder for campaign wonks each election cycle.
Hooah! Blog on.
