Abstract

Mass media have historically been relied upon as primary sources of news and information for the public. In 2008, an important presidential election year in the United States, ordinary citizens accessed political blogs at news websites, enabled by emerging new media and Web 2.0 technologies. Weblogs are inexpensive, easily developed, and generally non-commercialized tools of alternative mass communication within the rapidly expanding cyber terrain. While the blogosphere has been criticized as a public space that contributes to overwhelming amounts of unsubstantiated information, opportunities for citizen participation and learning have also expanded. Opinions and orientations are formed and reformed in a vast exchange of ideas. Our exploratory study followed political blog activity and gathered data on political participation and learning throughout 2008 leading up to Election Day at four U.S. newspaper websites: Billings Gazette, Rapid City Journal, Minneapolis Star-Tribune and Denver Post. Our inquiry was guided by an integrated conceptual approach that includes consideration of Habermas’ public sphere, de Tocqueville’s voluntary associations, and uses and gratifications theories. The growing communication frontier of the blogosphere has created increased need for research and discussion of political blogging phenomena, examination of the cacophony of voices at political blog sites, and effects of political blogging on participation, social learning and the democratic process.