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The New Political Battleground
Oxford University Press
March 2008
On Sale: March 7, 2008
272 pages
ISBN: 0195305574
EAN: 9780195305579
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction
Political blogs have grown astronomically in the last
half-decade. In just one month in 2005, for example, popular
blog DailyKos received more unique visitors than the
population of Iowa and New Hampshire combined. But how much
political impact do bloggers really have? In Blogwars, David D. Perlmutter examines this rapidly
burgeoning phenomenon, exploring the degree to which blogs
influence--or fail to influence--American political life.
Challenging the hype, Perlmutter points out that blogs are
not that powerful by traditional political measures: while
bloggers can offer cogent and convincing arguments and bring
before their readers information not readily available
elsewhere, they have no financial, moral, social, or
cultural leverage to compel readers to engage in any
particular political behavior. Indeed, blogs have scored
mixed results in their past political crusades. But in the
end, Perlmutter argues that blogs, in their wide
dissemination of information and opinions, actually serve to
improve democracy and enrich political culture. He
highlights a number of the particularly noteworthy blogs
from the specialty to the superblog-including popular sites
such as Daily Kos, The Huffington Post, Powerlineblog,
Instapundit, and Talking Points Memo--and shows how blogs
are becoming part of the tool kit of political
professionals, from presidential candidates to advertising
consultants. While the political future may be uncertain, it
will not be unblogged.
For many Internet users, blogs are the news and editorial
sites of record, replacing traditional newspapers,
magazines, and television news programs. Blogwars offers the
first full examination of this new and controversial force
on America's political landscape.
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