The Digital Divide: Print Version (Book Reviews)

I see a lot of discussion on blogs about the influence of the new medium on politics. Yet, when I hear politicos who do not blog there is often no mention of blogging, or perhaps only passing mention, especially on the state level. So I decided to check out this digital divide in the print world. Again, books by bloggers or blog mavens, such as Crashing the Gate: Netroots, Grassroots, and the Rise of People-Powered Politics, by Jerome Armstrong and Markos Moulitsas Zúniga, or Joe Trippi’s The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, feature blogs and bloggers prominently and in a positive light. In other relatively recent political books, not so much. I sampled some 2006 or 2007 imprints and here is what I found.

Brader, Ted. Campaigning for hearts and mind: How emotional appeals in political ads work. Chicago: U Chicago, 2006.

I didn’t read all the way through this one but started it and then skimmed. It focuses primarily on television advertising. There is some mention of print and leaflets. No acknowledgement of the Internet or YouTube or any such thing. Granted this book discusses ads going back to LBJ’s 1964 “Daisy” ad and up to the 2004 elections so that is a lot of ground to cover. No fun PA facts or tidbits

Adams, Brian E. Citizen lobbyists: local efforts to influence public policy. Philadelphia: Temple Univ. Press, 2007.

I did read through this one, though perhaps not with all brain cells firing at the same time. The author uses the term citizen lobbyists to describe people who become involved with local issues, or more often, an issue, which affects them. He uses citizens in Santa Ana as a case study. Adams looks at who is active (higher socio-economic groups, those personally affected, those with time, those who are neither too young nor too old) and what issues inspire the most activity (redevelopment and another that regulates personal behavior). Chapter 5, on the effect of local newspapers on public participation, is interesting. Traditional journalism affects opinions and agendas but not necessarily public participation levels. What is termed public journalism might affect participation. Adams also looks at how people participate. Contacting officials and attending (and speaking at) public meetings were judged the most effective strategies. Networking is another frequent strategy. The last chapter concerns social networks and their importance. The book never mentions the Internet or blogging or email or any social networking software of any kind, also no fun PA facts or tidbits.

Skinner, Richard M. More than money: Interest group action in congressional elections. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2007
This title looks primarily at groups like NARAL, NRA, and AARP, that advocate for particular positions or issues. Some, like NARAL, endorse or promote specific candidates. Others, like AARP try to stay nonpartisan in particular races and work for issues of interest to a majority of their members (like health car). I read through all of this one and was dismayed at some very poor copyediting in the last chapter. A few mentions of the Internet and one reference to bloggers (as engaged by the Dean campaign and as used to “bring down Dan Rather,” p. 168). Pennsylvania mentions: Melissa Brown, GOP candidate for the 13th district as a recipient of AMA donations in 2004 (p. 77), the NRA claims credit for defeating Sen. Joe Clark (p. 52), AFL-CIO given credit for Tim Holden’s victory when his district was combined with that of George Gekas (p. 106), NARAL’s work to defeat Jon Fox (R-13) (p. 63) with unions also credited in that race (p. 104), NARAL’s work on behalf of Joe Hoeffel (D-13), Ron Klink gets labor support (p. 105) as well as from lawyers (p. 118) but did not get the support of NARAL after he defeated pro-choice Allyson Schwartz in the 2000 Democratic senate primary (p. 140 and 148), Emily’s List supported both Lois Murphy and Allyson Schwartz (p. 60), two PA house districts discussed generally on pp. 5-6, Santorum gets a mention on pp. 4, 70, and 148, Pat Toomey’s race against Arlen Specter gets mentioned with the NRA’s support of Specter (p. 55) but NRLC backed Toomey (p. 68) as did the Club for Growth (p. 117 and 149)

Shea, Daniel M. and Michael John Burton. Campaign Craft: The Strategies, Tactics, and Art of Political Campaign Management. 3rd ed. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger, 2006.
This is a great overview of campaigning. I learned quite a bit from it and read it start to finish. Two sentences don’t really do it justice but anything else would just be padding. It really is a good book. The few Pennsylvania mentions were fairly general but there are some specific mentions of the blogosphere. To wit:

Researchers will want to bear in mind that the mainstream press tends to be suspicious of partisan and alternative news sources, but campaigns should also note the increasing speed with which nonmainstream stories, including amateur pundits with popular blogs, are making their way into the dominant media. (p. 86)

Later

There is growing speciulation about the financial potency of the web blogs. In the November 2005 issues of Campaigns & Elections, an article entitled “Blogging Down the Money Trail” suggested how campaigns might tap into “netroots” – that is blogs, message boards, and me-zines. Simply put, candidates can post information about themselves, their race, and the opponent on certain blogs. They can keep other bloggers posted about the progress of the race and, when situations arise, post urgent calls for money. The article tells how an Ohio Democratic congressional candidate posted pleas in early August for $30,000 in order to fun his GOTV efforts. He raised $50,000. “Whichever party’s candidates manage to get the biggest benefit from blogs,” it seems, “the one certainty is that they will be there to be used. Political activist are not going off line.” (p. 151).

The “there will there to be used” comment is kind of off-putting but otherwise it’s a good point.

An additional problem facing contemporary campaigns is the blogosphere. Campaign-generated blogs, which hew the official line, tend toward tedium. Most devotees of political blogs prefer the independent variety – and here a campaign must ready itself to contend with helpful (and not-so-helpful) allies and the serious possibility of an Internet smear campaign. Sometimes the smears are intentional, and sometimes they are simply the product of overzealous partisans. The best a campaign operative can do is present the facts quickly and back them up with firm documentation. (p. 170)

Again with the suspicion. I was not aware that bloggers were a group to “contend with.”

Summation: Yes, it appears that the blogosphere still exists outside the mainstream of political work. I’ll check back now and then to see if this changes.