Posted on 03/10/2008 4:40:23 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A majority of Americans do not read political blogs, the online commentaries that have proliferated in the race for the U.S. presidency, according to a poll released on Monday.
Only 22 percent of people responding to the poll said they read blogs regularly, meaning several times a month or more, according to the survey conducted by Harris Interactive.
Political blogs, in which writers, pundits and other participants voice opinions in online forums, burst into the spotlight in the 2004 and 2008 presidential campaigns. Some of the most high-profile blogs are influential on campaign strategies, media coverage and public perception of the candidates and issues.
Unlike traditional, mainstream media, blogs often adopt a specific point of view. Critics complain they can contain unchecked facts, are poorly edited and use unreliable sources.
Despite the attention blogs can get, the poll said 56 percent of Americans say they never read blogs that discuss politics. Another 23 percent read them several times a year, the survey showed.
While blogs are largely considered the realm of young people who are most Internet-savvy, only 19 percent of people ages 18 to 31, and 17 percent of those ages 32 to 43, regularly read a political blog, the poll said.
The generation most likely to read such blogs are those age 63 or older, 26 percent of whom said they do so. Also, 23 percent of those ages 44 to 62 read them, the poll said.
Roughly an even number -- 22 percent of Republicans and 20 percent of Democrats -- regularly read blogs, while 26 percent of independents do the same, the poll showed.
The poll was conducted online from January 15 to January 22 among 2,302 adults. Harris said it does not calculate or provide a margin of error because it finds such figures can be misleading.
I remember life before FR.... sigh...
Traditional, mainstream media doesn't adopt a specific point of view? Yeah, right...
I knew there was a reason politicians like John McCain don’t give a flip what we think.
Well, I certainly wouldn’t waste my time posting to a political forum. BTT.
...and, it shows...
Well, I certainly wouldn’t waste my time posting to a political forum. BTT.
Me Either !
http://eaglecooler.wordpress.com/
Unlike traditional, mainstream media, blogs often adopt a specific point of view. are often up front about their specific point of view
I don’t read political blogs either...FR is NOT a “blog.”
"A blog is a website where entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order" (This is considered the primary definition to many)
"A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. The [b]ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs[/b]"
Not only would I argue that FreeRepublic is a blog/blogging community, I would argue that it is the first or among the first websites to invent the form.
I love that sentence.
As oposited to keaarfully edited, Ratherite cheeked faks and reliably fabrikaited stoories? Gimme brake! Sheeeessshhh!
And that is why they are so ignorant when it comes to voting! They only hear the soundbites on MSM shows and think they agree with Obama and Hillary. They are clueless.
Coming from Al-Reuters?!?
Now that's funny right there; I don't care who you are!
I dont need no steeeeenking Blogs!!!!!!!!!!!
This is where FR was so innovative, typical forums are arranged in a subject by subject categorization & the most recently updated topics at the top. FR organizes the front page by reverse chronological order of post submission (in this case the word post would be synonymous with “blog post” and the “poster” becomes the “blogger,” esp. in vanity articles).
Not only was FR one of the first interactive websites to set up the reverse chronological order, it was also one of the first to allow the users to do their own “blogging” or “posting” to the site. You’re right, its not very different from forums, but there are a few differences a whole lot of negative association.
The term blog is typically used as a pejorative, but I suspect this is because the mainstream media has held huge influence for a long time and cannot stand competition. In fact, they’ve had the government regulating and crushing their competition for generations - so they’re using what authority they have to discredit their direct competitors, pretending they also hold a monopoly on things like editing and fact-checking. (Did you see the SF Chronicle article that says we spend $3 billion a year on the federal budget?)
The dinosaur media and the political parties would love if the whole blogging thing would just go away...so they are constantly talking it down.
fake but accurate.
Yeah, but what about forums?
Well duh. If more people did there wouldn’t be so many damn liberals out there.
I’ve never isited a blog anf FR isn’t a blog!
A majority of Americans do not read.
Fixed it.
Sounded like a whine to me, they can’t lie and get away with it.
Actually I find those numbers quite high.
Fake but accurate is right! Reuters is trying to diminish the importance of blog with shoddy statistics. Hmmm... I wonder what they have to gain (or prevent from losing).
Reuters uses flawed statistical analysis to reduce the importance of blogs. While we know that 0% of people read my blog, we should put the aggregate amount of blog readers in the context of those of us that are politically active.
If we assume that the minimum standard for being politically active is voting in the midterm election, the average voter turnout in a midterm election since I’ve been alive has been 38.2%.
Since 22% of respondents say they read blogs regularly, then 58% of people who are at least midly interested in politics read blogs regularly. Blogs seem more important now don’t they?
Reuters also says that 56% of people never read political blogs. Well, only 52.5% of people vote in a Presidential election. Stop the presses! In other words, 3.5% of people who vote in Presidential elections never read blogs. That is hardly statistically significant and may well be within the margin of error.
http://purveyors-of-truth.blogspot.com/
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