Polemic Punditry has a Price

In the already-crowded blogosphere, we know that subtlety and nuance aren't going to win you an audience. With so many blowhards regularly engaging in an everlasting game of brinkmanship to see who generates the most controversy, it's hard to stand out.

But somehow Michelle Malkin, in less than three years, has become arguably the most influential female conservative blogger on the Web, averaging over four million page views a month as of July 2006.

She is perhaps the most influential female political author since Ann Coulter. Whether that's a good thing is a matter of taste.

Part of Malkin's allure is her background. She is a second generation Filipino immigrant who is so conservative she often criticizes President Bush for being too leftist, especially on issues like immigration reform. She is so persuasive she turned her future husband from a Dukakis supporter into a hardline conservative who opposes affirmative action.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with espousing conservative views - the problem lies in Malkin's methods: hyperbole, misperception and occasionally outright lies.

Her detractors include fellow conservatives, like blogger Andrew Sullivan, who gives out periodic "Malkin Awards" for irrational, overbearing attacks.

Malkin's masterpiece of incredulity is probably her book "In Defense of Internment," in which she defends the U.S. World War II policy that unlawfully imprisoned over one-hundred thousand Japanese Americans. That period is largely seen as one of the most disgraceful in our history, by conservatives and liberals alike.

Malkin's tactics have gotten some of her content banned form YouTube, forced the cancellation of a book signing due to the taunts of 200 protesters, and forced her family to flee their home after her detractors posted her home address online along with photos of the house.

Wonkette.com posted a doctored photo of a bikini-clad woman with Malkin's head superimposed upon it, after Malkin derided the "Girls Gone Wild" video franchise as a "liberal assault on decency." This was in response to a political broadside Malkin published against the left titled "Unhinged: Exposing Liberals Gone Wild."

My question is this - when your published works bring such vitriol from all sides of the political spectrum, are you really instilling positive change or awareness?

With these methods, you really end up becoming nothing more than a carnival act - only gaining attention for your antics, not your content.

Do people cringe when they hear the name Walter Cronkite? Or Tom Brokaw? No. Did you ever see them having to flee their homes because of what they report? No - because they reported fairly and with balance.

Those men are seen as dignified and refined newsmen who illuminated their respective generations during times of war.

And that is because they conducted themselves as such. I think it is high time that today's disgraceful generation of pundits take a page from the old school, and gain themselves a touch of class.

Blogs don't play well with presidential politics

Since my last post, Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwan both resigned from their positions on the Edwards campaign. I can't say that I blame them. After all this media coverage they would have been under such substantial scrutiny it would have been nearly impossible for them to efficiently execute their duties. They also would have lost considerable cred within much of the blogging community for going mainstream. Blogging is still largely seen as an individualistic, rebellious art form untethered to any rule book - and jumping on the payroll of a rich white man's presidential campaign is about as antithetical to that concept as it gets.

Blogging often has a grand-standing, exhibitionist quality to it. But presidential campaigns are supposed to be all about focused teamwork - the only member allowed to display maverick behavior is the candidate.

In Marcotte's rebuttal to the tactics of the right-wing blogosphere, particularly the experienced and effective vitriol of Bill Donohue of the Catholic League, she eloquently details the lengths fanatical groups will go to in order to silence any perceived threat. Marcotte apparently thought she was too low on the food chain for her presence to register with the opposing camp.

It is in this regard that she comes off as rather naive, especially for someone who has several years experience in covering progressive politics. Nothing is too minor to be exploited, as long as the spin machine can effectively mold public perception to see it as a scandal.

Marcotte also makes seemingly valid accusations of sexism from her detractors, who have told her she would be much more pleasant if she weren't so angry, and telling her to suck their dicks. She has also endured excoriating criticism for using four-letter words in her blogs. These are words that males in the blogosphere are rarely questioned for using - in fact it's largely expected that they use them.

I guess even in the supposedly anything-goes world of blogging, they've already built a glass ceiling.

Blog Responsibly

This is my maiden blog outside the comfy environs of The Orion, the Chico State student newspaper,where I am just one poster amongst many within our diverse and ecletic staff. I've posted a couple of times on The Orion Blog, but there I feel less pressure in expressing my opinions and commentary, because I'm part of a team. Still, I take effort to blog responsibly.

As I embark upon this blog for my Internet Newspapers and Magazines course, I stand alone and am solely responsible for my actions.

The blogging world is already inundated with unique, witty voices espousing their views and unique insights on politics, sports, cinema and any other category that comes to mind. So if one wishes to stand out, the easiest route would be to turn toward the salacious and superficial - engaging in profane attacks on easy targets. That might win you some fans and attention in the short run, but if your commentary lacks substance, class and credibility, eventually your readership will wane - or worse, you'll open yourself up to a libel suit.

It can also affect your future job prospects. Just ask Melissa McEwan and Amanda Marcotte. The two high profile bloggers were recently hired to blog for former Sen. John Edwards 2008 presidential campaign. But in the past few days they have been on the precipice of being fired due to their controversial personal blogs in other publications.

McEwan's blog, Shakespeare's Sister, and Marcotte's blog, Pandagon, were accused of containing obscene, virulently anti-Catholic material by some religious conservatives, who demanded that Edwards fire them. Liberal bloggers came to their defense, trying to convince Edwards to keep the staffers on. The latter seem to have won out - at least tentatively. Edwards publicly condemned the writings in question, and his utter disagreement with them.

But Edwards said he also believes in giving people "a fair shake," and will keep both of them as long as they remain objective in their duties.

But they've already got one strike against them. And in a campaign like this, that's probably all you'll get.