* image of a political blog*(picture sourced from http://www.campaignsandelections.com/home/)
Political Blogs Intro
Political blogs are namely blogs that talks about politics and such- the name ‘Political Blog’ is self-explanatory. These are blogs that are blogs that are being vigorously read through by both the public and the involved political parties. According to Joseph Graf (2006) political blogs exposes lapse in mainstream media coverage on political issues. The mainstream media sometimes chooses not to publish certain news stories because of the influence of government bodies. According to Dana,M Walker(2008) one political blog, the Daily Kos was drawing about 11 million visitors per month. The sheer number itself can leave anyone in awe of the power a political blog actually has. To be able to draw that many visitors in a month is just beyond proper reasoning, imagine having 11 million readers reading your political views, that will do real good to your political campaign. However, it is almost impossible to get into trouble if you play by the rules if you post a sensitive issue online.
The use of Political Blogs
* image of Raja Petra Kamarudin's blog*
(pictures sourced from http://www.malaysia-today.net/2008/)
Although you are liable for what you say; it is almost impossible to get into trouble if you play by the rules if you post a sensitive issue online. According to Cari Lynn Hennessy and Paul S.Martin (2006) bloggers have actually forced mainstream media into covering stories that had been initially ignored. Quite obviously political blogs have been playing a role in covering the ‘uncovered’. Bloggers can actually cover sensitive issues and get away with it.Take Raja Petra Kamarudin’s blog for example, a famous Malaysian blogger, is actually being hosted in Singapore to prevent the influence of the Malaysian government over the posts on his blog. His blog is full of very direct questions that question the government’s ability and addressing issues that are not being spoken openly. Making him a real big hit in Malaysia and gaining many supporters along the way.
Why are political blogs a powerful tool?
Even in Malaysia political blogs are being frequently visited because of the transparency of these blogs and issues that are not being covered by the mainstream media can be found in these blogs. According to Michael Cornfield (2005) political blogs are being hailed as the new force in national politics. The potential influence of blogs are substantial and cannot be underestimated. Using these blogs political parties can actually keep in touch with their supporters. With websites being interactive instead of plainly just conveying the message like how a newspaper would. According to Jeremy Wright(2006) newspapers are meant to tell people of what is going on in the world and their community. Thus, rendering them non-interactive and somewhat boring because it is a one sided process. The powers of blogs are far more superior that of a regular newspaper as it has the power of interactivity. With the ability to keep readers feel more ‘in-touch’ with any issue being published it is easier to have loyal readers and keeping people interested for a longer period of time.
Personal Thoughts
Being one who is always interested in the current and of course transparent coverage on political issues, I frequently visit political blogs to update myself. I reckon that these blogs would grow and in the future they will grow like mushrooms after rain. It is very important for these blogs to stay in the World Wide Web as they are my sole source of the 'uncovered' political news that are very important to me and to any fellow Malaysian. In the future, I might even set up a website myself to improve my knowledge and build character.
Useful Sites
Campaign & Elections:
http://www.campaignsandelections.com/home/
Daily Kos:
Malaysia Today:
http://www.malaysia-today.net/2008/
Screenshots, Jeff Ooi:
http://www.jeffooi.blogspot.com/
Lim Kit Siang for Malaysia:
References
Graf, J 2006, Introduction, The Audience For Political Blogs, viewed on 11 June 2008, http://ipdi.org/uploadedfiles/Blog%20Readership%20-%20October%202006.pdf
Walker, Dana 2008, The emergence of the blog as a new information reality, Blog Commenting: A New Political Information Space, viewed on 11 June 2008, http://www-personal.umich.edu/~walkerdm/papers/ASIST_walker_blogcommenting.pdf
Hennessy, C & Martin, P, Blog and Mainstream Media, Blogs, The Mainstream Media and The War In Iraq, viewed 11 June 2008 http://www.journalism.wisc.edu/blog-club/Site/Hennessy.pdf
Cornfield, M 2004, I. Political Bloggers And The Power Of Buzz, Buzz, Blogs and Beyond, viewed on 11 June 2008, http://www.pewinternet.org/ppt/BUZZ_BLOGS__BEYOND_Final05-16-05.pdf
Wright, J 2006, The Newspaper, Blog Marketing, pp 112-115
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