Get over yourself. You are not a kingmaker, and you don’t reside on the fifth estate. But you do have a point in your favor.
A study reported on in the Sydney Morning Herald shows blogs had a similar role to mainstream media and candidates’ campaigns in creating buzz during the most recent Presidential election. But not a greater role.
According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project and consulting firm BuzzMetrics, blogs have become a force in politics but not at the expense of established media. The mainstream media retains the edge in influence and information.
“Bloggers follow buzz as much as they make it,” said Michael Cornfield, a senior research consultant at Pew. “Our research uncovered a complicated dynamic in which a hot topic of conversation could originate with the blogs or it could originate with the media or it could originate with the campaigns.
“We can say that if people still have that idea that the bloggers are the new fifth estate, that the bloggers are the new kingmakers, that’s not the case.”
During the Bush/Kerry election, the study followed blogs, message boards, campaign web sites, newspapers, and television. One finding showed that blogs acted as guides for the mainstream media to the Internet.
That finding found support from a recent University of Connecticut poll, where 8 of 10 journalists read some type of blog.
And about that point in favor of bloggers? That would be persistence, as noted by new blogger Arianna Huffington. “We need that kind of persistence to break through the static,” she said.
“It’s quite amazing to me how many stories die on the front page of The New York Times. It’s not that stories are not covered, it’s that they’re not covered with the relentlessness that the blogosphere can bring to it.”
David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
