Big Liberal Bloggers Tee Off On Progressive Groups For Not Sharing Ad Wealth
Some of the leading liberal bloggers are privately furious with the major progressive groups — and in some cases, the Democratic Party committees — for failing to spend money advertising on their sites, even as these groups constantly ask the bloggers for free assistance in driving their message.
It’s a development that’s creating tensions on the left and raises questions about the future role of the blogosphere at a time when a Dem is in the White House and liberalism could be headed for a period of sustained ascendancy.
A number of these top bloggers agreed to come on record with me after privately arguing to these groups that they deserved a share in the ad wealth and couldn’t be taken for granted any longer.
“They come to us, expecting us to give them free publicity, and we do, but it’s not a two way street,” Jane Hamsher, the founder of FiredogLake, said in an interview. “They won’t do anything in return. They’re not advertising with us. They’re not offering fellowships. They’re not doing anything to help financially, and people are growing increasingly resentful.”
Hamsher singled out Americans United for Change, which raises and spends big money on TV ad campaigns driving Obama’s agenda, as well as the constellation of groups associated with it, and the American Association of Retired Persons, also a big TV advertiser.
“Most want the easy way — having a big blogger promote their agenda,” adds Markos Moulitsas, the founder of DailyKos. “Then they turn around and spend $50K for a one-page ad in the New York Times or whatever.” Moulitsas adds that officials at such groups often do nothing to engage the sites’s audiences by, say, writing posts, instead wanting the bloggers to do everything for them.
The behind-the-scenes tensions go to the heart of the role these bloggers have created for themselves in Democratic politics — they’re basically advocates and operatives with big platforms — and their future role, too. They argue that their efforts and fundraising helped drive the Democratic ascendancy. Yet even the Dem party committees are reluctant to advertise with them, raising the question of whether the party will ever be willing to seriously invest long-term in this new media infrastructure.
“We don’t invest in the future, and Republicans do,” says John Aravosis, the founder of AMERICAblog. “The party committees really get that we can be effective as their partners and that we’re happy to help, and they take advantage of that. But even so, very little ad money comes from them. It’s more than just wanting to share in the spoils. We are small business-people who are fighting to survive economically in a really bad year.”
Adds John Amato, the founder of Crooks and Liars: “These groups actually believe that we should promote their stuff for free. Do they not understand that we need funds to sustain our viability?”
Definitely a dynamic to keep an eye on…
Update: Americans United for Change says it will now advertise on blogs.
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Thats a very tricky line right there. If sites like fdl or kos start getting subsidized by the Democratic Party they may lose their credibility or the appearance that they can be objective. Also I wonder what would be the trade off from receiving such money. Would those bloggers then have to censor dissent aimed at the Democratic Party or Democratic candidates that aren’t liberal or progressive. I don’t know about that one.
sg — I mean, I think they’d argue that they’re not disguising the fact that they’re basically advocates — it’s not that they want to be bought, it’s more that they are investing materially in the Democratic Party and they think it would be in the interest of the party to invest more in them…but yes, it’s a tricky line.
I’d like to think that Firedoglake, Daily Kos, AmericaBlog and C&L are independent of the Dem party. The fact that they feel they are insufficiently rewarded financially suggests to me that they see themselves as a propaganda wing of the party. I find that sad.
well, DanP, keep in mind that much of the ire is focused not on the party but on these independent outside groups…
Suggesting that advertising is appropriately spent in the blogosphere is not asking for “subsidy”, sgwhiteinfla, anymore than spending that advertising money on the airwaves or the pages of traditional media turns them into subsidized venues.
Danp, do you have any idea the finances of running a big blog? (I run a tiny one, and it takes a lot of effort)
This argument is one component of the longstanding one about progressives not supporting infrastructure – see also unpaid internships no one who needs to support themselves and possibly a family on can take.
If you want a healthy message infrastructure, you have to invest in it-and that means advertising or fellowships or whatever for people who are putting in the time and effort to get the message out.
There have got to be significant legal problems in many instances with the kind of quid pro quo that these bloggers are openly advocating.
Furthermore, how are the Democratic party committees going to spend money advertising/supporting the liberal blogs, when the blogs tend to pick preferred candidates in Democratic primaries? These blogs can’t have it both ways – throw their support behind who they deem to be *their* preferred Democrats & darlings of the blogosphere *and* expect the party and progressive organizations to throw money their way regardless of whether or not it’s a practical investment.
Markos Moulitsas and John Aravosis in particular should think about why they’re expecting support from Dem party organizations after they devoted significant resources all last year to slandering one of our Democratic presidential candidates and current Secretary of State.
I agree with the other comments here. In a traditional medium like the NYT, I mostly trust that they have enough advertisers to balance out at least most of the conflicts of interest. Kos doesn’t have that many advertisers and does have a stated agenda. If he became dependent on donations from the party, that would make me trust him less. Donations from MoveOn and other advocacy groups strike me as less problematic.
You’re certainly in good company-lots of folks have been thrown under the bus- think Howard Dean and Chris Dodd were the latest?- Don’t you guys get it? They’re just not that into you any more. You represent the radical left and Obama is Mr. Safety man-Most of the left is still giving him excuses for everything he does- Rick Warren should have set off alarms if nothing else- that was just right out of the gate- No change- just a politician with his own “political brain”- David Axelrod- You guys are toxic now- don’t fit the new narrative -
DG, you’ve got it reversed.
These groups are more than happy to spend money on traditional media but don’t spend money on the vital and growing blogosphere that many of them are also relying on to support their own movements and message.
It’s not quid pro quo or paying for coverage that is being asked for.
It’s making sure that the infrastructure of the progressive blogosphere isn’t starved of financial support.
While I have much to despise the conservative movement for, that is something they have traditionally been very good at.
I rush to add that the POLITICO and its parent company, Albritton Communications Company, are DEEPLY AWARE of their advertisers interests. As much as any progressive blogger, Ben Smith of the Politico is under pressure to promote revenue-generation for the company.
So no, Ben and the Politico are not “blissfully insulated from the wishes and agendas of advertisers.” The Politico ad sales department is one of the best (many of their rep’s came from Roll Call, NatlJourno, or Congressional Quarterly) and the Politico ad sales department is also one of the worst (have any of your democratic clients also been offered Politico full site sponsorship for a REPUBLICAN Presidential Primary debate?!!)
This tension definitely exists, but there is much more to the dynamic than just the “bloggers” and “Dem Orgs/ Party”. Foremost, most organizations do not/cannot build, buy, and traffic their own banner campaigns. Thus, new media consultancies provide an important liason between these groups and actual advertising runs. In DC, a town dominated by TV media buyers, getting campaign budget allocations for “web stuff” can be painful. For example, during the beginnings of the HRC presidential campaign, she had one line for “online spending” and it had to include the website, donation/ vetting software, and blogger Peter Dau! Whatever *else* was left went to online ads.
Conversely, bloggers do not sell advertising space and have to rely on networks like BlogAds or Google Ad Sense for revenue. These sales networks are a double-edged sword- they enable the blogs to operate, but they also promote the value of “The Network” over any single site. Additionally, digital sales representatives from every online publication and network are constantly trying to attract ad dollars to their own sites. In a very real sense, Jane Hamsher and FDL are competing against the WaPo Digital Ad Sales team for political ad dollars. (FDL used to be affiliated with BlogAds, but are now with CSMads.com)
Boy, do I hear you.
I really am glad you spelled this out.
I know my blog turned out the vote because my readers wrote me and told me that they had often been the person who just didn’t bother voting, but they felt like they were in this together with me.
Then there’s the readers who write letters and make phone calls, because I wrote something that moved them to action.
I am so used to being taken for granted that it actually took me aback when fans wrote me after the election and thanked me for helping so much.
The reason that any of us make a difference is because of our reputation for being honest, passionate, witty, and articulate. We write like demons. When I don’t have a dime, I have that.
Advertisers who look for the hip, the dialed-in, the early adopters, the passionate… they say they’re looking for cred.
Here we are. The free milk cow has had quite enough.
They’re not getting advertising because they have nothing to offer. Obama proved that he could win without the “netroots” and they’ve resented him for that fact ever since.
I think it’s even more interesting that “liberal” bloggers do not typically link progressive bloggers of color in their blog rolls. They are absolutely lily white!
LOL. Moulitsas is a poseur and shill as are the other twits of the Vichy Dem Blogosphere. They have been working their fanboy and cheerleader base for so long after every Dem rambone in the doo-da sell out, and Now they’re whining because they didn’t see it coming? What rubes. They should be embarrased for thinly veiled opportunism, their ruse of “pushing” “from The Left” when they do neither.
So big deal. Now they’re surprised. Fools. The Activist Left is hardly blibbering away online at these moronic talking point pep rallies that , when push comes to shove, conforms to the party line. Thus, they have NO Leverage.
The truth is, social networking and email blast “long tail” fundraising is commoditized, um, like for several years now. So who in the hell needs Markos Moulitsas or Janie Hamster for that.
The Real Deal? They Have No leverage and NO INFLUENCE whatsoever. Moulitsas particularly is a a dim bulb, blibbering on the other week about how Arlen Specter was going to leave the GOP and probably push through the EFCA. To bad 11 Dem Senators had already parachuted out of THAT plane.
They should have gotten a clue when Nancy rammed em right after the 2006 election. Basically, they’re idiots.
What image of objectivity? Folks like the people at DailyKos are OPEN and even BRAG about the fact that they AREN’t Objective? Did you not read the flippin’ article? They openly admit that they repeat the talking points of the Democratic party and the left-wing advocacy groups. Taking money from those groups isn’t going to damage a non-existent reputation for objectivity. Did the fct that MSNBC took ad money from the Obama for President campaign, for example, have any impact on the fact that everyone knows that Olberman is a shallow shill for the Left? Of course not, because he’s ALWAYS been one (since he left the sports booth).
They’re only in it for the money. In particular, other peoples’ money.
The Republican Party has taken fundamental christians, and pretty much any social conservative for granted, like since forever. Sure they throw a bone once in a while, but not that much of their agenda gets taken seriously. The GOP can count on their vote regardless of what the GOP does.
What makes you think that the Democratic party will all of a sudden have to worry about liberal blogs voting for a Republican to spite them?
It is good that the blogs are speaking up. At least they have something valuable to offer in spreading the truth about their progressive agenda.
It wouldn’t hurt to spend some money directly on the blogs, or compensate in other ways through grants, fellowships, scholarships, etc…
Give me a break. People advertise where there are results. Blogs are notorious for producing ZERO results.
I should know. I, personally, spent $$$ advertising on progressive blogs in 2008.
The result?
ZERO traffic and ZERO interest.
What did I do? I spent it on Google AdWords.
Shaun Dakin
A few things:
1. Markos is not a liberal. He’s a self-identified “Libertarian Democrat” (whatever the hell that is). He only uses the “liberal” label when it suits his political/media purpo$e$.
2. Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free? They expect these groups to pay up now? Seriously??
3. The flaws in Markos business model (if this is about whining for money):
- he pays his “fellows” (front pagers) about $60,000/yr. It’s a recession. Time for a pay cut?
- he sells lifetime subscriptions to his members so they don’t have to view the ads. If I’m one of those groups that he’s picking a bone with and I know that, why would I bother paying for an ad?
4. I don’t remember Markos whining about the fact that Obama did not post there once during his entire campaign. Yet Markos’ infamous Send Money Now!! pleas to the Dem party were made repeatedly without asking anyone to pay him (that I know of). So now he wants some sort of payback? Isn’t control of the government payment enough? (Although they way things are going with warrantless wiretapping, torture and the so-called bail out, I’d probably be asking for my money back too if I were a Dem. I’m a CDN liberal so don’t call me a freeper, please.)
5. Markos isn’t REALLY comparing his blog to the NYT, is he? Really?
6. If you can’t make a living as a blogger, get another job. Seriously. Can they sound any more entitled?
7. In the scheme of things, if there were actually anything original/exclusive/groundbreaking happening on those blogs, they might be worth the $$$. As it stands, Daily Kos is only a Dem party shill blog. There are thousands of other news sources with the same content, for the most part. Maybe those advocacy groups have decided that they’d rather not waste the thousands that Markos charges for ads on a site where they already have free support through the hundreds of members who post (free) diaries every day. (There’s that “business model” thing again). What’s Markos going to do? Ban discussion of what those groups are doing? (He’s probably already considered that…ban-happy guy that he is.)
Lastly, Greg, “liberalism” doesn’t seem to be “ascending” anywhere near the WH unless you have some special sort of liberalism-spotting glasses that I’d definitely like to borrow.
Being a left-liberal, I wouldn’t want ads/ad money for my blog from any group that had a “progressivism = Democrats” second-grade understanding of political math.
Our current president is part of the proof of why.
…they may lose their credibility or the appearance that they can be objective…
Not likely since that appearance doesn’t exist anyway.
Only SOME wealth needs to be shared, and only with certain groups. That is: Other people’s wealth, and with me (or my designees).
Of course, when everyone has that same opinion, it gets tough to sort things out.
‘We are small business-people who are fighting to survive economically in a really bad year”
“These groups actually believe that we should promote their stuff for free. Do they not understand that we need funds to sustain our viability?”
Are you KIDDING ME? This is the group of people who got a bunch of SOCIALIST elected and now they are whining because these socialist don’t want to play by capitalist rules. These guys sound like they are republicans, what with all their talk about sustaining small businesses and engaging in the capitalist system.
Am I the only one who sees the irony in this?
Here’s the fundamental problem with the bloggers’ desire for payment:
They built their fame, and (presumably) incomes, on pushing their ideals. In the process of advocating those ideals, they endorsed candidates, often successfully. Other than the reelection of Joe Lieberman, the record of the progressive bloggers is impressive, to say the least.
Having played such a large part in the Democratic Party’s successes, especially in the realm of online fundraising, over the past couple years, they feel it’s time for recompense. Unfortunately, they provided their services free of charge, and are now hoping that dollars come their way for past services rendered.
It’s a classic Catch-22: they’ve created a base of loyal readers because of their writing and advocacy. In order to keep those readers, and maintain their livelihood, they must maintain their fanbase. These bloggers are now in a position of cutting of their nose, to spite their face. They could stop blogging, support for their causes might wane, but if the did, it is certain, in the near term, they will lose the readership that sustains them. Conversely, they can continue on the path that has brought them followers and revenue, and allow the Party to use their services for free.
They are damned if they do, and damned if they don’t. It seems that the successful partisan political bloggers, such as Kos, FDL, and maybe some con-bloggers, etc., are in a position where they have no leverage to negotiate. They are being offered a choice of continued unconditional support of the party, or dying on the vine. I don’t envy them a bit.
A wiser man than I once described capitalism as a process of “creative destruction”. This is an example of such creative destruction.
While I would love to enjoy the schadenfreude (as a fiscal con) of left-bloggers possibly going under, it is only a matter of time until the inaction of the Democrats to support their supporters is mirrored by the Republicans…If they would win an election.
Both sides, right and left, should take this as a warning. Bloggers will continue to be taken for granted, used, and cast aside, so long as they enthusiatically support either parties’ agenda.
In the future, I predict both sides of the blogosphere will find ways to develop platforms that will advocate their ideas, draw in readers (and thus income), and remain independent of party politics. It’s a Pollyanna-ish vision, to be sure. Bloggers powerful enough to interest the major parties investments would certainly be subject to conflicts of interest by ad revenue. That said, they wouldn’t have to approach the pols with hands open – it would be the other way around.
Nutroots bloggers whine: Democratic groups won’t advertise on our sites!
http://hotair.com/archives/2009/04/08/nutroots-bloggers-whine-democratic-groups-wont-advertise-on-our-sites/
heh…Useful Idiots Realize They’re No Longer Useful
Isn’t it surprising these people are so tight with their own money but so profligate with the taxpayers’? Like all commies, these people are parasites.
give me a freakin’ break! this is the attitude that i hate about bloggers…in the end, it’s not about being an active citizen participating in democracy, it’s about getting a seat @ the power table w/the movers and shakers.
i can’t beleive that any of them ever thought you could make money blogging. it would be like thomas paine thinking he could make a living passing out pamphlets before the revolutionary war.
first of all, what self-respecting progressive would actually want to become part of a lefty “echo chamber” to rival that of the right, when we all have railed against that very thing for the past 8 years?
secondly, who could believe for one second that those in charge of any given political agenda, be it dem or repubbb, can be trusted? they’re freakin’ politicians fercrissakes! as someone said above, obama is already tossing the far left to the curb.
but third and most importantly in my book, it’s pretty damn obvious that there’s no business model that can produce a living from the internet alone, unless you’re the one who invents/designs a seminal website that catches on (google, facebook, etc) and sells it for a gazillion dollars to a moron that doesn’t realize you can’t make a living on the internet.
hey, if you can’t afford to subsidize your own blog, stop blogging. it’s like saying “those big guys are refusing to pay me for saying good things about them!” so stop talking already.
if getting proper information out to the public and getting people excited and interested in voting and candidates isn’t award enough in and of itself, then stop doing it, hang up a public relations shingle and become mark frickin’ penn and leave the rest of us alone.
Why would the Dems be so stupid as to spend money advertising on blogs such as the Daily Kos. People who frequent those websites have already drank the kool-aid and need no convincing.
When you advertise, you target where you might reach someone who is not already sold on your product or idea.
Why don’t you ask them to confiscate ad spend from the taxpayer and redistribute to progressive bloggers? That’s how it works for everything else right?
Maybe the party has some idea of how to get the best bang for their buck, and running ads on emo kid blogs isn’t it.
It was a big mistake to let snotty whiners like Moulitsas think they mattered to the Ruling Party. Now it will take a couple of years before they figure out that they don’t matter any more than the other “what are you gonna do” voting blocs like the welfare dependents.
>>>Then they turn around and spend $50K for a one-page ad in the New York Times or whatever.” Moulitsas adds <<<
Exactly. Buying good spin from the NYT is no different than buying good spin from the Daily Kos. President Obama, just because we agree with you politically doesn’t mean our allegience comes for free!
Stop spewing hate and maybe businesses/orgs. will pay to advertise.
Frankly, DKOS and their ilk are just too hateful. They need to tone it down about 3 notches and become repectable.
Then they need to go out and SELL their sites to generate revenue.
It seems like they are whining. Well, that’s what a business does, it provides value for its customers.
Obamanites want to be paid for their effort?
I thought capitalism was bad?
I guess we need a blogger bailout now…huh.
Heh, poor liberal bloggers-they think it’s on the square.
As someone who plans media buys fora living, I can tell you that preaching to the converted is a waste of money. Traditional ad-supported news organizations do not appeal for ad money as a reward for a spin job well done. By doing this, bloggers are just reinforcing the notion that they are slanted, biased and far from objective. This contribute to the “us vs. them” mentality that has poisoned politics.
These big liberal blogs have as little use for smaller and more independent blogs as they claim the big Dem orgs have for them.
It’s amusing how many conservative commenters will denigrate liberals for voicing their opinions and doing so profitably. Apparently freedom of speech and capitalism are only positives if one restricts oneself to conservative speech, dress, and cultural mores.
Look, bitching about groups not scratching the right backs is merely another form of marketing. Perfectly legit and apparently successful, in this case.
As for those who view this as being a ‘tool’ of the party, that depends entirely on one’s understanding of what a political party is. When functioning properly, the party is us. So how can we be tools to ourselves?
At sites like Crooks & Liars, DKos and Firedoglake, there’s plenty of critique of the party and its elected members. Those blogs don’t rubberstamp; they’ve successfully persuaded at times.
So most of the critics’ arguments fall flat. And for many, it sure sounds like nothing more than envy going on.
Here’s a tip for my conservative brethren: It must be disconcerting to find one’s ideas growing obsolete, but whining about the successes of the in-crowd doesn’t seem a very effective path back to relevance.
Let’s look at the history of the Democratic Party:
1940’s: Truman says “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen”
2009:: “These groups actually believe that we should promote their stuff for free. Do they not understand that we need funds to sustain our viability?”
Way to go Liberals!!
Cause those food stamps and welfare checks just aren’t enough with the price of arugula at Whole Foods these days! Give us more money for sitting on our fat butts!
It would be hilarious if it weren’t so sad.
You don’t pay back a tool. You pick it up, use it, and put it down. That’s politics.
Maybe if Daily Kos hadn’t been so aggressive at driving out nearly all voices who dissented from majority views (and I don’t even mean Republicans, I mean independents, centrists, anyone who doesn’t have a knee-jerk hate response to anyone associated with the DLC, anyone who criticizes Obama from the left, anyone who disagrees with DH on anything).. the advertising would have value because it’d actually be reaching people undecided on issues.
Kevin said: “Apparently freedom of speech and capitalism are only positives if one restricts oneself to conservative speech”
What? Have you heard about the “Fairness Doctrine”? That is a direct attack by GOVERNMENT on Conservative speech. Period. It would not apply to TV or newspapers.
Take your partisan blinders off, Kevin.
—”Socialism Smells Like B.O.” (Protest sign at a recent Tea Party)
If Kos and Hamsher are for sale, it seems like an opportunity for the Republicans.
It would not be good business to advertise on these blogs. The NutRoots already will vote democratic. Why waste ad $ there unless it IS to pay them back? Sorry, that’s not how capitalism works. The DNC and RNC need their funds for advertising to try to convince the other side and independents. Advertising on Kos, et al, would be a waste of money.
I know these guys don’t understand capitalism and free markets very much, but it’s so obvious even Karl Marx would figure it out.
They don’t pay their income taxes. Why would they pay their shill bill?
Hey, cry me a river, but thanks for correctly identifying the AARP as the left-wingers they are (a special interest group whose special interest is cashing in on senior citizens–ca-ching).
Wait a minute. I thought the profit motive was evil “greed,” and that leftists are altruistic and working for the good of humanity. They should show that by advocating for party causes without complaining that they’re not getting paid.
Actually, this is emblematic of the left’s decades-long refusal to get serious about starting and funding their own media sources, thus leaving the Cons to run riot — especially after the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine and the gutting of the FCC’s anti-trust regs allowed rich Cons to buy up and/or buy off most corporate media, particularly AM radio.
Now, for a quick spin over to the kiddie table:
Ster, Kevin and I know more about the Fairness Doctrine than you do. Here’s a quick primer: http://www.swans.com/library/art13/gsmith91.html
Nice organizing the “blogswarm”, “Ster”! Or should I call you “Mary Rosh”?
Conservatives and Republicans understand how important “wingnut welfare” in the form of subsidized think-tanks (aka RW pundit madrassas) and general ownership/control of the press is, which is why they are willing to go to great and highly unprofitable lengths to guarantee they have it. (Look at how much Sun Myung Moon loses on his Washington Times empire — around $100 million a year, last I heard. And FOX took years to turn a profit.)
Can’t help but notice the recurrent “fair and balanced” phrase in the swans.com piece as the description of what the Fairness Doctrine required. Leave it to Fox News to flip reality, labeling what isn’t as what is.
It’s a mistake to conflate the lefty blogs with “Obama supporters”. The blogosphere, generally, did not support Obama. They supported John “Iraq War Co-Sponsor” Edwards because he gave them the attention and access they so desperately crave while Obama ignored them.
As a result, they were determined to punish Obama for failing to kiss their ring. Some of them, like Chris “Obama is Done” Bowers, wrote Obama’s political obituary in late-2007 and took credit for his alleged downfall.
But then he had the temerity to win anyways. Absolutely unforgivable. They threw their support behind Obama later but only because they hated Clinton more. Their support in the general was tepid at best. Now that he’s in office, they’re free to open fire on him once again.
But things have changed. Obama proved that Democrats can organise and raise money online without kissing Townhouse *ss and the party is following his lead. It turns out they have nothing to offer but the same vapid punditry they love to deride the Beltway for.
DailyKos will survive because, for all his faults, Markos is a hundred times smarter and more pragmatic than his witless brethren. But the FireDogLakes and OpenLefts of the Internet will fall to the wayside or turn into angry, insular ghettos… and no one will care.
These bloggers need to remember that they have only themselves to blame. If they wanted money, they should have gotten written contracts for ads. Then, at least, they’d have something for all their trouble. As it was, all they did was alienate a bunch of very good Democrats, and they actually have lost a lot of their credibility as well.
Hey Kos, if you voluntarily bend over, you take the risk of getting screwed.
Why would you pay for something you already “OWN”…. LOL
Wow, this discussion has really riled up the 28 percenters*. I may have misread the piece but I got the impression that the people quoted were taking in terms of covering costs, not living in luxury. Maintaining a blog with hits in the 100,000s a day comes with a big operating cost. Unlike, for example, signing up on blogger, coming up with the a catchy title like say, Obama is a furriner who hates ‘murrika, while never leaving your mothers basement.
Saying that it wouldn’t make much sense for these organizations to advertise to an already energized group but grants and the suchlike would definitely be a good way forward.
*28% = roughly
Palin supporters
Teabaggers
Glen Beck sympathisers
Rush fans
So far no one has mentioned the journalistic co-opted phrase “separation of church and state” meaning the business side (advertising) of publishing (and blogging) needs to be separate from the editorial side (journalism) of publishing.
If you are going to look at your blogging like a business (seek advertising funds or subsidization), then you have to remember your objectivity will be perceived as nil.
Just because the NYT runs a positive article or editorial on hybrid vehicles, doesn’t oblige the manufacturers of hybrid vehicles to advertise. Likewise for bloggers, be they on the right or left, who should not expect that advertisers “owe” them patronage.
You need to run your blog like a publisher – if you want more “advertorial” than objective, then you should have the agreement in your hand before you publish a single word of praise.
# 1 What Credibility ?
I wonder whether or not liberal bloggers crying foul over the lack of reciprocity or interest by established organizations isn’t part of a targeted response driven by “the smart money” that made these bloggers years ago, a response designed to shame the establishment into coalescing with the groups Andy Rappaport has already convinced to become part of the VLWC.
Or maybe these bloggers just want a bigger slice of the pie, maybe it’s just that simple?
In July 2004, there was a great article by Matt Bai in the New York Times Magazine profiling Andy Rappaport. That one wealthy man, more than any other single individual, is responsible for the growth of the liberal/progressive/Democratic blogosphere.
Markos Moulitsas responded to this article praised Rappaport’s “venture capitalist approach to political funding” and also said “the smart money has cast its lot outside the party hierarchy.”
That sure as hell isn’t how “the smart money” rolls today. Sure, they’ve bankrolled the Lefty blogosphere, for the most part, but they cast plenty of their lot inside the DC and Democratic Party establishment.
I wouldn’t call it a conspiracy, as Bai did in that article, but it’s a real network, and there is real coordination of message, and there is definitely a source of money and power removed from the front lines driving that message.
At the same time, it hinges on the participation of the small donor and coordination of message and effort with those donors and their cohort — the Netroots — to push back against what is popularly known as the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy, as outlined in Rob Stein’s now-legendary Powerpoint.
A handful of A-through-Z-list bloggers drive thousands upon thousands of readers to become fact-checkers, e-mailers and noise makers. Together they have proven a worthy foe for long-established GOP powerhouse organizations like the Heritage Foundation, American Enterprise Institute, etc.
But do the average Netizens, the little guys and gals, know just how this whole thing came to be, how it works, and how little their opinions belong to themselves? I don’t think so.
Five years ago, the point man of the Lefty blogosphere was boldly saying this revolution was taking place from outside the Democratic Party.
Between then and now, that message has been turned on its head, first with efforts to elect more Democrats, which became efforts to elect more and better Democrats, which of late has become a call to elect better Democrats. Since I joined Daily Kos right before the 2004 presidential election , the drive has been about changing the Democratic Party from within.
The average blogger/activist has been through a bait and switch of a grand scale. A greater question is, “Do they care, or should they care?”
Now the “big liberal bloggers” are indeed biting back at the hands that feed them. Now would be a great time for those bloggers to examine their individual roles in this grand yet singular network. Do they really need that ad money to keep doing what they do? Would they be able to survive outside the system, without that extra money? To what extent are they driven by altruism? To what extent, Capitalism? Are they being tossed aside by the “smart money” that made them years ago for another strategy?
It’s something else, what Rappaport built with the willing cooperation and participation of others and the not quite so willing but easily manipulated cooperation and participation of the masses. It’s worked so well, it’s scary to really confront how quickly it has evolved and shifted.
If Rappaport et al still need them, they’ll get their ads. If not, they’ll be squeezed out, tossed aside, marginalized, take your pick. We might just be witnessing the pruning of overgrowth, or the finetuning of a machine, as the system is likely more mechanical than natural.
Kos and Co, have built a nice little ‘tower of babel’ to reach their own little cult of personalites, and the costs of the standard to which they have become accustomed, keeps getting higher and higher.
SgwhiteinFL said in Comment number 1
“If sites like fdl or kos start getting subsidized by the Democratic Party they may lose their credibility or the appearance that they can be objective.”
Guy put down the dope. I mean anyone that can put Kos and objective in the same sentence has brain damage.
Did you even write what you wrote?
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From a marketing standpoint, progressive organizations and unions should direct at least 10% (or more) of their total advertising budget to non-corporate media. This means blogs, progressive publications and radio talk shows.
Why pay for a minute of airtime to promote your progressive message when the other 59 minutes are filled with the messages of your opposition? You are effectively funding your opponents. Building an alternative media helps you multiple your message many times over… you get more “bang for the buck.”
I am a blogger, a progressive/pro-labor radio talk show host and a marketing professional. This all seems so obvious that I cannot understand why it is not being done already.
The Democratic establishment is really missing the boat on this one along with almost all progressive groups and labor unions. I would be willing to discuss these ideas with anyone from any of these types of organizations. I live within driving distance of D.C.
In solidarity,
Stephen Crockett
Host, Democratic Talk Radio
Editor, Mid-Atlantic Labor.com
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