Everybody's a Journalist

Someone once said, "On the net, no one knows you're a dog." And while that might make online dating an adventure, it's also changing the face of journalism, commentary, and politics. The "blogging revolution" is underway. 'Blog' is short for 'weblog' - a sort of online diary chock-full of links to things of interest to the author. Sure, like most of the net, there's a lot of crap, some of it from lifelong members of the Beltway chattering class. But, real people are starting blogs - and gaining readership.

Yesterday, the Oregonian ran a story about blogs - and completely ignored some of the more fascinating local commentary. So, I'll point to a few that I've found fascinating, if only occasionally weird:

Bojack: a blog from Jack Bogdanski - a Lewis & Clark law professor. Jack talks about politics, Portland, and (sometimes) bad Boomer music.

Mars or Bust: a pair of Portland women with lots of Portland reaction to the war and protests.

Webfeet, The Oregon Blog: I'll just quote today's dispatch...

"It's a tired old saw, but: lack of funding + glue-sniffing yokels (the Oregon legislature) = Oregon. In the news today, more horrors. Judicial backlog mounts, but the legislature and Governor aren't providing any more money. The schools are in the toilet, and the legislature...isn't providing any more money.

"But richies? For them, there's more money. Legislators are hard at work trying to get rid of the meager bit we already have. After all, the richies need their tax cut. They needed it when times were good, and by god, they need it now.

"Makes a person want to go protest ..."

So, here's the question: Will blogs change politics? Certainly, it seems to me that blogs are changing journalism. Even ABC News, MSNBC, and Slate are running blogs now -- but it's only a matter of time before a major candidate starts keeping a daily diary online. Maybe presidential candidate and obsessive diarist Senator Bob Graham?

This item was originally posted at MandateMedia.com on March 27, 2003.