Description
Over one million people write political blogs, yet a select few wield enormous power within the political blogosphere and over politics in general. Known as the “political blogging A-list”, these bloggers command the majority of blogging traffic; set the agenda for the rest of the political blogosphere; and have a strong influence on politics, whether it is directly through blogging, or indirectly through influencing mainstream news media.
In Making it in the Political Blogosphere, Tanni Haas profiles and interviews twenty of the world’s top political bloggers, who share the secrets of their success. Despite the partisan nature of blogging, in which Liberals, Conservatives and Libertarians share the same space, the twenty bloggers are in surprising agreement about what makes a successful blogger. In securing access to the political blogging A-list, Haas has provided us with an entertaining sequence of interviews, which are invaluable to any aspiring political blogger.
Making it in the Political Blogosphere was used as a key text at the ‘Liberty, Public Policy and the Blogosphere’ conference organised by the Liberty Fund in Indianapolis, USA (28-30 June 2012).
About the Author
Tanni Haas holds the Leonard & Claire Tow Professorship and is a Full Professor in the Department of Speech Communication Arts and Sciences at the City University of New York, Brooklyn College. An avid political blog reader, he is the author of The Pursuit of Public Journalism, as well as numerous scholarly essays.
Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction: The Rise and Influence of the Political Blogging A-List
1. Arianna Huffington
2. Taegan Goddard
3. Jane Hamsher
4. Eric Olsen
5. Andrew Malcolm
6. Nick Gillespie
7. Thomas Lifson
8. Eric Garris
9. Tyler Cowen
10. Rogers Cadenhead
11. Lew Rockwell
12. Jim Hoft
13. Steve Clemons
14. Ben Smith
15. Matthew Yglesias
16. John Hawkins
17. Heather Parton
18. Kevin Drum
19. Juan Cole
20. Cheryl Contee
Conclusion: How to Plan, Produce, and Promote a Successful Political Blog
Endnotes
Index
Endorsements and Reviews
… a wealth of perspective, insight, history, advice, and storytelling from the interviewees, and Haas’ opening and closing chapters provide great ways of thinking about the blogosphere.
Nick Gillespie, founder of Reason Magazine‘s official blog Hit and Run
… a brilliant insider’s look at the political blogosphere and the minds that lead it.
John Glaser, Antiwar.com
As a blogger, I wish I had read this book first. Talk about insightful and enlightening! This book provides an amazing look inside blogging, and how a few people with very different approaches became such powerful voices politically. I am retooling my approach, and this book might now be my new bible for blogging. Great job!
Kevin Jackson, theblacksphere.net
Would I recommend this book? Why, yes – yes I would
Adrienne, of adriennescatholiccorner.blogspot.co.uk
… an invaluable source for anyone thinking of blogging or simply wanting to step up one’s game.
BigFurHat, of iOwnTheWorld.com
This book is a primer for amateur or serious bloggers, especially those ready to move beyond ‘blogging for me’ to ‘blogging for an audience’.
Anthony Moretti, in Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Vol 90(2)
