Blogs seem to be helping reorganize political debate along more Essay

Blogs seem to be helping reorganize political debate along more partisan lines - Essay Example Today, not only do those central to the leadership of America participate in the practice, including politicians like Howard Dean and Wesley Clark, but the mainstream media in an attempt to grow stronger connections with its audience, and give the news a seemingly interactive feel. Blogs allow individuals who otherwise would not have a voice to express their opinions and provide more effective feedback to their leaders. However, blogs, with their phenomenal success, have also created a situation where Americans are becoming more aware of their political views, and thus are becoming more polarized. In America’s liberal democracy, this may not be the best course proceeding forward into uncertain times. Ultimately, blogs which focus expressly on political matters have a greater power to polemicize and polarize than to unify and unite—making it questionable whether the benefits that blogs bring to political discourse are really worth the costs of such influence in the long run. Bloggers are regularly courted by politicians for endorsements for their ability to shape election news (Sappenfield). But given the enormous rise in the popularity of blogs, until recently there was surprisingly little information on those who actually use them. Lately, a study found that roughly thirty-four percent of Americans read blogs, with fourteen percent of those respondents saying that they have particular interest in political blogs. The study found the following facts about that subset of the population: that they (1) are more likely to have a college degree, (2) are more likely to identify with one side of the political spectrum, (3) are more likely to vote, and (4) are more likely to support candidates either monetarily or in conversing with others. Of that subset, almost nine-tenths of them read fewer than five blogs, and almost ninety-four read only blogs that come from one side of the political