First, let's look at DailyKOS. The site has a simple look and offers the even more simple slogan: "News. Community. Action". Upon loading the site I am greeted by a front page with this image, titled Newt Blingrich:
Though this image takes a pot shot at Ginrich for his lavish spending a Tiffany's, the rest of the article goes into great depth about why Gingrich has curried such favor in the Republican primary in recent weeks. It's a fascinating read, and seems very balanced despite the author's seeming dislike of Republican politics. That's one of the things I like a lot about KOS: So often blogs are seen as cesspools as far as writing and story quality go, but they buck that trend with long pieces chock full of great writing.
Like I said before, I feel like they are a little slanted to the left, but I also feel like it's a lot like what Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert have made the point - they would like to call things right down the line, but in recent years the right has been been far more outrageous, so their left-wing bias is really just a bad news bias and a focus on which side of the coin is going to get the bigger laughs. Then again, maybe that statement in and of itself reveals my left bias.
Since we did a "left" blog, let's move to a historically "right" blog - The Drudge Report. One of the first real political blogs, Drudge seems to reveal not only in their right-wing affiliation, but also in their web 0.5 lifestyle. Their site is still one of the most unsightly things you can find on the web. I'm sure they could easily afford a better layout, but they insist on a layout that looks like a cross between craigslist and the first website I made in 6th grade during a beginner's HTML class. Ugh.
As for what I like about them, there isn't much. The only thing I can really compliment them on is knowing and catering to their reader base. I'm sure the average reader of their site is on the upper end of 40 or 50-years-old, and it shows in their coverage. A ton of national news (their main page headline is about Russia and almost all of their stories appeal to a conservative news audience. They raise an interesting question when it comes to blogs - if you acknowledge your bias.
As for our last, ThinkProgress, everything from their loaded name, their attachment to the "liberal think-tank" Center for American Progress, and their focus on their hard focus on social justice issues that usually are playing ground for the Democrats, this smells like a liberal blog.
Then, upon looking at their coverage, it fits the mold. Stories about how Fox News may or may not be crazy, Mitt Romney being a flip-flopper and attacks of lobbyist funded initiatives for oil companies litter the front page. Like their two contemporaries: they know their audience, and they cater and sometimes downright pander to it.
All of this is fine. Because we exist in an era where a new news site seems to pop up every time we blink, it's perfectly okay if a lot of them are largely partisan muck. People are going to go to the sites that best speak to them, and sometimes the best way to do that is to use the partisan language they want to hear.
And, when these sort of sites get out of line and tell lies, there are hundreds of other blogs that will keep them in check to forward their own agenda. Is agenda based fact-checking and competition the most effective way to get the real truth in news? Not particularly, but it makes for a much more honest, robust environment than the contrary, that's for sure.
As for our last, ThinkProgress, everything from their loaded name, their attachment to the "liberal think-tank" Center for American Progress, and their focus on their hard focus on social justice issues that usually are playing ground for the Democrats, this smells like a liberal blog.
Then, upon looking at their coverage, it fits the mold. Stories about how Fox News may or may not be crazy, Mitt Romney being a flip-flopper and attacks of lobbyist funded initiatives for oil companies litter the front page. Like their two contemporaries: they know their audience, and they cater and sometimes downright pander to it.
All of this is fine. Because we exist in an era where a new news site seems to pop up every time we blink, it's perfectly okay if a lot of them are largely partisan muck. People are going to go to the sites that best speak to them, and sometimes the best way to do that is to use the partisan language they want to hear.
And, when these sort of sites get out of line and tell lies, there are hundreds of other blogs that will keep them in check to forward their own agenda. Is agenda based fact-checking and competition the most effective way to get the real truth in news? Not particularly, but it makes for a much more honest, robust environment than the contrary, that's for sure.
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