Given that what some call the “Blogosphere” has seems to be undergoing something of a maturation process as it coalesces into an actual, honest-to-God political force (see, we’re NOT just a bunch of crackpots sitting in fromt of our laptops in our underwear….). Nowhere is this trend more evident than in the world of political campaigning, where a few more renowned bloggers have actually been hired by campaigns trying to find an edge. The latest example of this trend is Sen. Hillary Clinton’s hiring of Peter Daou, a Liberal blogger known for savaging the Mainstream Media for “hectoring the MSM for slobbering over Republicans and stiffing Democrats”. Liberal media, indeed.
While I don’t begrudge Daou his success, his ascension to the Mt. Olympus of blogging (a paid gig) does raise some, if not ethical issues, then certainly concerns about real and potential conflicts of interests. How these concerns are addressed will go a long way towards determining how relevant bloggers will remain in coming years.
The one thing about sitting at your laptop in your underwear while slamming a cup of coffee in your kitchen is that you’re beholden to no one and no point of view. A blogger is truly a free agent in this sense. I answer to myself, and myself alone. Although I do take the concerns of and feedback from my readers into consideration, what ultimately appears on TPRS is my decision and mine alone. If I want to write about the perils (or virtues) of Romanian gay dwarf porn, there’s no editor to tell me I can’t do it. Well, OK, She Who Endures My Myriad Eccentricities might have her panties in a wad over that one, but you get my point. As any writer will tell you, lack of editorial control is the literary equivalent of Nirvana. Of course, those of without adult supervision are still trying to lose our amateur status, while those with editorial oversight are probably actually making something resembling a living off their craft. Life is full of tradeoffs, no?
So what happens, then, when a blogger gets a paying gig as a court jester in an actual, honest-to-God political campaign? Does the message get lost in the backwash? Does political reality conspire to take the edge of a blogger’s insight and observation. Does the blogger in the end find his voice co-opted by the needs of his employer? Does he or she end up playing apologist for the candidate’s positions and policies? Or does he or she become co-opted and end up as a campaign propagandist?
Hey, don’t get me wrong; I’m not about to knock people who use their weblogs as stepping stones to better-paying gigs. I would dearly love to do the same and lose my amateur status. Let’s not delude ourselves into thinking that money doesn’t change things, though. Being a lonely voice in the wilderness (and in your underwear) may not be particularly remunerative, but it does come with a great deal of freedom. I suppose it just depends on what’s more important to you.
