Bloggers "are going to be policed"!!

Hey Folks,

Here is my letter to Ann Fisher in response to her recent column in the Dispatch. Her column is printed below.

- Uke Man


Dear Ms. Fisher,

As one of the 30 million bloggers out here in the ether, let me say “thank you” for your column.

I found the comment about bloggers by Brian Rothenberg, communications director of the Democratic party, quite chilling – but not surprising: . "In time, they are going to start selfpolicing or they are going to be policed."

He sounds like a Republican, but THAT is not surprising either.

He demonstrates exactly WHY I am a blogger.

You know the “Golden Rule”: He Rules Who Has The Gold.”

Do you know the bumper sticker: “The Media Are Only As Liberal As The Conservative Businesses That Own Them”? That applies to the Dispatch as a newspaper and to the Democrats as a party.

Here’s a fact that we both know: “News” outside certain parameters does NOT get disseminated in the major media – regardless of its truth or importance. It is published only within the limited scope of pamphlets, monthlies, specialized magazines, newsletters, and blogs.

This is by design – decorum ( and privilege) uber alles.

Bloggers are a threat to that.

How sad that a leader of the Democrats (the people’s party ??) would be so ready to apply severe discipline to maintain order (shades of Mayor Daly). And how outrageous that he thinks he denigrates bloggers by comparing them to “the pamphleteers of the Revolutionary War period.” We must be a real Thomas Paine in his ass!!!

Thank you for supporting the independent voices of bloggers. Rothengerg wants us to toe the line, get in line, accept HIS line; or he promises to sick the thought police on us. I’m sure his pals, the Republicans, feel pretty much the same.

I’ll end by asking, “If the thought police police the bloggers, who will be left to police the thought police?”

Yours - Uke Man



Bloggers perplex political parties
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
ANN FISHER

Until recently, Brian Rothenberg admits, he was content to watch the phenomenon of Internet blogging from his perch at the Ohio Democratic Party, where he is the communications director.

Those days are over, and his baptism by fire to the blogosphere leaves no doubt that the medium is here to stay and also evolving.

Rothenberg and others who are paid to get the word out for political parties should take note. Someday, they’ll be hiring an assistant just to monitor bloggers and their ilk, trolling for the thoughts and phrasing, the kernels of truth that ignite conversation and consideration.

The joke is that bloggers are youngish, live in their mothers’ basements, work in their pajamas and have nothing better to do than wax away on any number of topics. Like most generalizations, that’s probably unfair.

In this case, I prefer to focus on their passion for politics and to encourage the participation. Perhaps their brand of chatter will light the fire we need to redeem the body politic in this country.

In the meantime, Rothenberg and others are forced to navigate an unformed landscape, where few use their real names and ethics are just beginning to become an issue. And he’s been burned.

Some bloggers recently asked the Ohio Democratic Party for free passes to the state party dinner at Veterans Memorial on Saturday. Those otherwise anonymous bloggers wanted the proverbial rubberchicken dinner and a chance to hear the vaunted U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois work his oratorical magic on a room filled with true believers.

Rothenberg said he didn’t want to offend the friendly bloggers, an increasingly potent factor in the political matrix. But he’s also sensitive to the lowly party grunt, the perennial volunteer, who often can’t afford a ticket.

Finally, Rothenberg is concerned that in arguing for the tickets, some bloggers likened their craft to that of a newspaper reporter. Newspaper reporters may attend such events, but they don’t — or shouldn’t — take even as little as a salted cashew from the bowl at the bar. Reporters surely are not entitled to take a seat reserved for a paying customer. The event is, after all, a fundraiser.
He turned them down and felt the wrath of the blog.

In the end, Obama paid for a blogger table. Still, Rothenberg is troubled, likening bloggers to the pamphleteers of the Revolutionary War period, without form or rules. "In time, they are going to start selfpolicing or they are going to be policed."

John McClelland, of the Ohio Republican Party, said he hasn’t yet fielded any requests from bloggers for freebies. He, too, is watching and waiting. "They are not the traditional media, but we’ve tried to be open with them in terms of having access to our events, taking phone calls, answering any questions."
Blogger and journalist David Kline, in a U.S. Department of State Web chat in March, said that more than 30 million blogs have been launched since the technology became available about five years ago, which tells us many people are finding a voice and that many more are listening.

A blogger effectively ended the leadership career of U.S. Sen. Trent Lott, a Mississippi Republican, by forcing into the forefront a nostalgic comment he made about the old racial segregation. Others will skewer campaigns and candidates, the traditional media and one another.

Campaigns can get with it, establish some ad-hoc rules, or get out of the way.
Ann Fisher is a Dispatch Metro columnist and can be reached at 614-461-8759 or by e-mail.

afisher@dispatch.com