The year of the blogs?

Once upon a time there was a world without blogs. It was a dark and dangerous place, where knowledge was controlled and hoarded by insiders, leaving We the Pesky People out in the cold. In business, politics and government, corporate media dominated the flow of information. In choosing what and how to cover the news, they effectively set the public agenda in virtually every aspect of daily life. In recent years, with the support of entrenched Republican policy-makers, the corporate media have indulged in an orgy of consolidation that has further narrowed the range of voices and perspectives available to citizens. The watchdogs may not be fully asleep, but neither are they alert or trustworthy. Reporters relationships with sources often go unexamined, and the ability of multi-million dollar opinion manufacturing machines to influence the media agenda remains unfettered.

It is against this backdrop that political blogs emerged on the scene. Starting with excellent regional voices like Orange Politics, Scrutiny Hooligans, Ed Cone, and Pam's House Blend the standard for engagement was set, and it was set high. When BlueNC was launched two years ago, it was a natural next step in the evolution of information.

In the past two years, the number of politically oriented blogs has grown significantly, with newspapers, in particular, jumping on the blogging bandwagon. Leveraging their secure insider positions, many among the Capital Press Corps have taken to the interTubes, each with his or her own unique style. For depth and insight, Laura Leslie and Mark Binker get top honors in my view. For balanced punditry, Jack Betts is pretty solid. For mild middle-of-the-roadness, Doug Clark takes the cake. And for a whirlwind of fast-paced drama, you have to spend time Under the Dome.

And while newspapers have a natural advantage because of their staff resources, they haven't yet dominated the North Carolina blogosphere the way they would like. Other voices have emerged with unique perspectives. Gary Pearce and Carter Wrenn, for example, produce Talking About Politics, the ultimate insiders' blog from two guys who appear to be best friends with everyone from god to Jim Hunt. Given how much access to information they have, I wish they'd share more of it more often. Another steady source of good analysis and insight is Political Junkies. And finally, there's The Soup, my favorite new blog on the political scene. No one talks about who's behind The Soup, but whoever they are, they're good ... and I want to offer my support and encouragement. Stick with it guys!

In their most recent post (December 13), The Soup's chefs point out something about blogging that most people probably don't think about that often:

We launched The Soup six months ago with a mission to carve out a cheeky, stir-the-pot niche in the North Carolina political blogosphere. Based on the comments, kudos and obscenities hurled our way, we accomplished that goal. The Soup broke some news (still batting 1000% over at Under the Dome’s Magic 8-Ball), did some innovative research, and served up plenty of snark. We underestimated one thing: running a snappy, well-written, up-to-the-minute political blog is a fulltime job. Until somebody pays us or we hit the lottery, The Soup is our labor of love. The challenge is finding enough time not to post a bunch of crap. With the holidays here, we’ve decided to take a break for a few weeks, spend time with our family members who haven’t disowned us and reevaluate The Soup’s future. (emphasis added)

The "relaunch" of BlueNC this month is part of our own effort to evolve toward a more credible, effective and positive community. Because the truth is, it's easy to settle for posting "a bunch of crap" in the frenzy of daily life. Between jobs and families and community commitments, finding the time to dig into issues and go behind the scenes is a real challenge. Whatever you can do to help is always appreciated.

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You'll notice I don't mention the right-leaning blogs in North Carolina - and with good reason: they are largely invisible and ineffective. Visit Red Clay Citizen, for example, and you'll find no discernible community engagement. The same applies for the family of John Locke Foundation blogs, which you can find by clicking through on this page.

I'm not sure exactly why conservative blogs are so anemic, but they are. And not just in North Carolina. The same situation exists in the national arena. It's probably due to the fact that once you've said "cut taxes so I can keep more of my money" a few thousand times, there's not much left to talk about.

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Please forgive me for any oversights of specialty and local blogs of note. For example, Pat Go Bye-Bye is one of my favorites. There are scores of others ... so please feel free to list and promote your favorites in the comments below!