Blogosphere,  Media,  Politics

Blogosphere Watch: Selling Your Blog-Soul to the Company Store

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Politics as Usual (Click to zoom in on graphic)

After the Virginia Democratic primary, for instance, James Webb hired two of the bloggers who had pushed to get him into the race. The Democratic Senate candidate Ned Lamont in Connecticut had at least four bloggers on his campaign team. Few of these bloggers shut down their “independent” sites after signing on with campaigns, and while most disclosed their campaign ties on their blogs, some — like Patrick Hynes of Ankle Biting Pundits — did so only after being criticized by fellow bloggers.

The trend seems certain to continue in 2008. Potential presidential hopefuls like Hillary Rodham Clinton and John McCain already are paying big-name bloggers as consultants, and Julie Fanselow of Red State Rebels said on her blog she would entertain job offers from Howard Dean, Barack Obama, John Edwards or Al Gore.

“This intersection isn’t going away,” Jerome Armstrong of MyDD, an elite blogger hired by campaigns, wrote earlier this year, “and I hope more and more bloggers are able to work to influence how campaigns are run.”

Here is a listing of some of the most influential bloggers who went to work for campaigns this year, what they were paid according to campaign disclosure documents, and praiseworthy posts about their employers or critical ones of their employers’ opponents.

Will it be important MANDATORY for Presidential campaigns to have experienced bloggers working the blogosphere for their candidates?

You bet – A media expense just like an assistant press secretary and/or media advisor.

Will they be able to get a way on the cheap and whore out established independent bloggers who blog about politics?

Doubtful

There is nothing inherently wrong with hiring established bloggers to work a campaign.

But, there must be DISCLOSURE.

And for the record again, Flap pays for this blog and has received NO money from any candidate, business, product or cause.

I do run some ads and bleg for donations.

NOTE TO GOP campaigns – you MUST pay more for blog media relations.

Stay tuned…….


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