Astroturf-Blogging in South Dakota

Personal Democracy Forum: Daschle, Thune and the Blog-Storming of South Dakota. The blogging efforts on behalf of Thune's Senate campaign didn't cause greater civic participation or bring in piles of small donations. Instead nine bloggers -- two of whom were paid $35,000 by Thune's campaign -- formed an alliance that constantly attacked the election coverage of South Dakota's principal newspaper, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader. More specifically, their postings were not primarily aimed at dissuading the general public from trusting the Argus' coverage. Rather, the work of these bloggers was focused on getting into the heads of the three journalists at the Argus who were primarily responsible for covering the Daschle/Thune race: chief political reporter David Kranz, state editor Patrick Lalley, and executive editor Randell Beck.

This well-reported piece shows the danger of hidden interests in journalism. The game played by the pro-Thune blogging campaign should have been known before the election, not after, because it might well have changed the outcome had voters known what this crowd was doing.

Comments

[G]

Not sure you can view this in isolation. The Daschle race was openly targeted by Republicans with national financial and logistical support. That was not a secret to the reporters at the Argus. If a reporter does things differently simply because she is being monitored (i.e., read and discussed), whether by a paid or volunteer monitor, that makes you wonder about what the reporter was writing when not being monitored, no?

[Anna]

Two points:

1. Look up "working the refs".

2. The first step toward detecting/preventing "working the refs" in blog comments would be some sort of "disclosure" checkbox and field, so that readers could at least recognize the honest shills.

[davetomphl]

Can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. Everyone knows that there are far more journalism students than there are journalism jobs.

If Kranz, state editor Patrick Lalley, and executive editor Randell Beck had their "heads" invaded, then maybe they should move on to another job and let young journalists in.

[scou29c]

Dan, we are at war.

We are participants in a struggle for the future of the blogoshpere. This war will determine whether the blogoshpere will go the way of talk radio or become a new world order for journalism. Blogs have the potential of being the best thing to happen to journalism since the First Amendment.

I ended up agreeing with the right on the Eason Jordan affair and to some degree on the fake National Guard memo, however not for the same reasons on the latter. Dan Rather and CBS practiced sloppy journalism and got what anyone who uses unattributable sources deserves. In regards to the story of the fake memo story, I thought the biasness was for bragging rights, personal ambition, TV ratings, and the ever elusive Holy Grail for reporters, the scoop, but not some liberal plot by a cabal of liberally biased journalist. I’m cynical; I would never taint MSM journalist with something as noble as partisan politics.

But the fascist on the right would do that and more. Before the next four years of self-righteous, faith-based government has run its course, I expect blogoshpere to suffer a Kristallnacht in which the brown-shirted right wing bloggers will run amuck destroying any site in the blogoshpere that does not practice group think or right think. And since they are so far to the right, the center looks left to them. So objectivity and unaffiliation will be no defense.

Blogs offer remedies for major failures for which the MSM suffers. A member of the MSM will not call foul on another member and the over use of unnamed sources in MSM are prime examples. No one leaks on leakers. No secret in Washington is safer than the names of leakers. A reporter’s story could be published which anyone with any intelligence could see was shoddy journalism, but the other MSM in a position to know will say nothing. Not so with bloggers. Bloggers will hold the MSM to account for the public position they command. Bloggers will make MSM practice good journalism.

And hopefully, bloggers will hold right wing bloggers to account also. We are in a war to determine the fate of the blogoshpere. Will it become a tool of the right like talk radio? Will the right destroy any they cannot buy? Will it become like Henry Ford’s Model T: you can have any thought you wish in the blogoshpere as long as they are black? Pray God protect us from the self-righteous.

[Fred]

Impressive, "scou29c". You worked references to fascism, Kristallnacht and brown shirts all into a single paragraph, thus eliminating any value your comment might otherwise have had.

[Dan Gillmor]

Fred, I agree that scou29c's language goes over the top, and thus tends to undermine his otherwise interesting comment. Such language is perilously close to trollishness, which I will not allow to take root on this blog.

[Anna]

Dan, you saw the Joe Drymala comment at Unfogged? ( 2nd quote in Lex's post here ) -
"Here's a question that I find myself wrestling with: what marks the end of traditional politics, and the beginning of something else? In other words, at what point do terms like "partisanship" become obsolete with regard to the political circumstances of the day?..."

[bob stenseth]

please note, mother died from constrition around neck in sioux falls nursing home where patients were raped and employee convicted,death certificate from new jersey insurance company stating died from constrition around neck also had dust fall out of letter causing sore on my hand and i became ill. cyprol was prescibed, and paperwork to cdc,fbi etc. then all paperwork taken from home and all monies taken from bank, children taken from dad whom i raised for 10 years. months later i asked judge mierhenry why were my 9 yearold and 11 year old locked in jails and why couldnot i nor anyone find them? response work and put family back together again. then 11 year old taken to wisconson and left for 6 months without notice, now child has been transfered 14 times and went from a student to post tramatic stress. because of 14 transfers and cutoff from all relatives and others. all attorneys in area willnot present case in state courts, scared?lazy? even dogs and cats,cars taken by unkowns.social worker south dakota states i donot care about any of this.hope federal judge will rule on case i had to present, i think[hope court will, documented and self evident}think things are under control? not.