The topic of politics in the Internet age convinced people to give up much of their Saturday to head to a joint Institute of Political Leadership/John Locke Foundation conference, “Spinning The Web,” in Research Triangle Park.
Participants heard a series of panels covering the topic from different angles. The following links offer video highlights.
The New Online Campaign
- Jon Henke of New Media Strategies discusses here the influence of blogs.
- Zephyr Teachout of the Duke Law School, a veteran of the Howard Dean presidential campaign, discusses here the mixed reaction to the Internet’s role in politics.
- George Taylor of Elon’s Institute for Politics and Public Affairs discusses here the Internet’s role in society’s democratization.
Web Tools for Political Reporting
- Mark Binker of the Greensboro News & Record discusses here a new Internet-inspired element in N.C. political csmpaigning. (Later panelist Ryan Teague Beckwith has more here.)
- Laura Leslie of WUNC Public Radio shares here a potential downside of reporters relying on the Internet and blogs.
- Ryan Thornburg of the UNC-CH journalism school explains here how the Internet has changed the relationship between reporters and sources.
Blogs and the Political Conversation
- Blogger and News & Record columnist Ed Cone warns here that people should avoid using a single blog as a news source.
- Blogger Mary Katharine Ham discusses here the capability of blogs to generate much more information for debates about politics and other topics.
- Ryan Teague Beckwith of the News & Observer explains here that blogs give people a venue for challenging traditional media.
Beckwith also wins the prize for funniest self-deprecating media reference. You’ll find it here.
