Bloggers on the take (Is it too much to call this blogola?)

[Bucky]

I just heard about this, bloggers taking payments from political candidates, astroturfing the netroots, if you will, in exchange for softball coverage and peppy little write ups for the candidate with the most Benjamins. (See the link marked "accept payola" in the upper right column at Old American Century that links to this graphic: )

I'm not surprised by this, as I've noticed at least one blogger who's done a clunky job in supporting Mrs Clinton's candidacy (applying a mawkish can't-speak-out-yet double standard to her support of the Iraq War Resolution when he'd roundly criticized other candidates for kowtowing to Bush). But I think I'm offended. Maybe. I honestly can't decide where I stand, as a former blogger planning on jumping back into the cyberjournaling discipline, on this sort of journalistic practice. Is it Foxian, is it whorish, or is it simply advocacy journalism? Am I scandalized or am I just jealous?

Is this fair game, fair graft, or an insult to the supposedly democratized version of the 4th estate? Do all journalists need to be independent or is this part of the free market equation that goes with the free market of ideas that a democracy requires? After all, the very first newspapers to start attacking George Washington--voicing a needed opposition to a dangerously popular politician--was Philip Freneau, who was essentially taking payola in the form of lightweight translation work from his political patron Thomas Jefferson (and paid, ironically enough, out of funds from the US Department of State).

My gut says this is wrong, it's misrepresentation and a violation of my trust as a reader. My head says "grow up, Bucky, your read current events so that you don't have to trust."

So is my gut right or is my head right here? I am curious, blue.

[Catherine Vincent]

1. It must be true.

Everybody can be bought.

[wtmusic]

2. It had to happen

Once anything achieves an arbitrary level of integrity money steps in.

Sad, but we take what we read on the internets with a grain of salt anyway, no?

[ToolTex]

3. Your head. Not trusting was class 101 on the Internets.

The beauty of the web is that you can blog the blogolaee into his shameful corner.

[madfloridian]

4. Now be fair....they are working for the candidates...with disclosure.

I just looked at the list, and those I know of..I already knew they were working for the candidates. They have disclosed. Peter Daou disclosed quite prominently, so did Jerome, Chris, and Scott. I don't remember all that were listed right off hand.

There are two on there I don't know, so I can't say about them.

If they disclose, and they have...then it is not payola. When Bill Clinton called the bloggers to lunch, and several wrote favorably right away about Hillary, the members at the blogs called them out on it.

I don't like bloggers working on campaigns but that is what they do, and if they disclose that is fine.

I think one may not be disclosing right now, and I feel uncomfortable. But he will.

[illinoisprogressive]

5. Peter Daou works for Clinton, that is common knowledge.

[madfloridian]

6. I think you may be hurting some reputations here.

Without knowing all the facts. Calling it payola is not a good thing.

[madfloridian]

7. More...Tagaris, Sirota, Hynes...have always disclosed.

They work for candidates. That is what they do. Tim T. even posted at the DNC blog that he was leaving to work for Lamont.

[CrazyOrangeCat]

8. Dunno . . .

. . . but the "I am curious blue (yellow)" reference, sure woke up some dusty brain cells!

[illinoisprogressive]

9. It's not payola. Most of them have disclosed the fact they work for so and so

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

10. I think most here assume that fr is under some kind of payola, since they used to be anti-

shrub before 2000 and "made the change".

[madfloridian]

11. I see only one blogger on the right mentioned. Why just left bloggers listed?

We know many on the right work for campaigns, do they not disclose? The ones being targeted by this site always disclose, the ones who are left bloggers.

This is sort of a National Journal blogger hit on the bloggers on the left.