"Meet The Blogger: Peter Daou"

Bits and pieces from the interview/profile by James Boyce.

In essence, I argue that the power of the blogs is a function of the relationship of the netroots to the media and the political establishment (thus, the triangle). I don't think bloggers alone have the public penetration to alter conventional wisdom on their own, at least not yet, but they can put targeted pressure on the media and on political operatives and work with those two power centers to shape public opinion.

I've gradually come to the realization that the single biggest obstacle facing the left is the pervasiveness of anti-left and pro-right narratives in the media. What's the point of your message if it's filtered through a media lens that's unfavorable to your position? You know, 'weak' Dems and 'strong' Republicans, 'un-American' left and 'patriotic' right, and so on.

Until the left gets its act together to address this imbalance, we'll have more Gore-ing of Gore and Swift-Boating of Kerry. And more anti-Hillary tabloid journalism like the kind we've seen recently from the New York Times, David Broder, Tim Russert and others. The astonishing thing is that the "liberal media" absurdity is so entrenched that arguments about pro-right narratives are still met with suspicion, if not outright derision. The standard reply from rightwing bloggers is not a factual rebuttal, but simply "you must be crazy." Jamison Foser recently posted a great piece about the media problem.

...if you're asking whether Markos deserves his success because of something he's done, the answer is yes. The high traffic blogs I follow offer something to readers that justifies the size of their readership. HuffPo is a perfect example: there were early critics, but the site fills a void and success has followed. The same holds true for Glenn Greenwald, Crooks and Liars and Firedoglake. Having said that, I make it a point to feature new and lesser known blogs on my site; every blog plays a role in the dissemination of information, whether it reaches five readers or five thousand.

There's another larger point here as well, and that's about the long-term evolution of this medium. Human nature being what it is, hierarchies are bound to form and typical social dynamics come into play. Cliques and power spheres emerge and you end up with the usual internecine fighting. I'm a big believer in the open, decentralized, democratic nature of the online world and I understand why people celebrate the revolutionary nature of online communication, but I realize that in time this structure will calcify and something new will come along to shake everything up."