Tame Political Blogs

August 9, 2006 11:08 AM

Official New Labour BlogsThe US has got used to the political bloggers, but the Uk's Labour party is now accepting applications from bloggers to be an official blogger at their Annual Conference. They're offering access to all the key speeches and events at Conference and you’ll be blogging from the floor about your experiences and 'special access'. Would a blogger be compromised by this?
posted by quarsan (13 comments total)

What's there to compromise? "Blogger's integrity"?
posted by Zozo at 11:22 AM on August 9, 2006

Would a journalist be compromised?
posted by luriete at 11:30 AM on August 9, 2006

Well, things aren't very clear from the announcement page. Would the blog be located on "labour.org.uk"? What are the criteria for selection?

My guess is that the person selected won't need to be "compromised" -- he or she will have already drank the Kool-Aid.
posted by pardonyou? at 11:34 AM on August 9, 2006

He'd better not be too critical: Walter Wolfgang shouted "Nonsense" in 2005 and was arrested under the Terrorism Act, allowing the Government (from this year) to hold you without trial for 28 days (unless someone doesn't like you, and decides to place you under house arrest).
posted by alasdair at 11:46 AM on August 9, 2006

the difference isn't that bloggers are being asked to the conference/convention, but that the party is seeking to choose an official conference blogger.

that's a difference to practices i've seen in the states and is nothing to do with allowing journalists, who, generallya re permitted as representatives of media.
posted by quarsan at 11:49 AM on August 9, 2006

How odd - official blogger for the labour party.

I'd always thought that the reason political blogging wasn't as big in the UK was:1) Because politics isn't as polarised and emotive and therefore isn't as interesting 2) Although the general populace is probably somewhat better informed, we don't really have the kind of deep beltway wonks americans do 3) Blogging is generally less popular for a variety of reasons which are cultural (despite big brother, less of a confessional mindset) and technological (for many, the mobile is more important than the net).
posted by rhymer at 2:53 PM on August 9, 2006

1) Because politics isn't as polarised and emotive and therefore isn't as interesting

Aah, but if the British Labour party is anything like the Australian Labor Party, and I think it is, party discipline is all important. I doubt they would pick somone who was going to give free, liberal and challenging analyis of the goings on.

the difference isn't that bloggers are being asked to the conference/convention, but that the party is seeking to choose an official conference blogger.

As well they might choose an official person to write their press releases or do their PR. While I am prepared to accept that there may be some overlap in the Venn diagram between bloggers and journalists, bloggers are not, by default journalists. To believe such is to ignore the history and original use of the term "weblog". Hell, major companies now have "weblogs" intended to provide news about new products. How is this likely to be any different?

I second zozo's view. In order to be compromised, surely you have to have some kind of integrity and respectability to begin with. And if you did, you surely wouldn't take them up on the position.
posted by Jimbob at 5:20 PM on August 9, 2006

Aah, but if the British Labour party is anything like the Australian Labor Party, and I think it is, party discipline is all important. I doubt they would pick someone who was going to give free, liberal and challenging analysis of the goings on.

Isn't the AU Labor party basically what would be considered the American right wing? My impression of UK Labour was basically a bunch of Joe Lieberman/Hillary Clinton type democrats.
posted by delmoi at 5:26 PM on August 9, 2006

Isn't the AU Labor party basically what would be considered the American right wing?

No, you're thinking of the Australian Liberal party. They're the ones with the confusing name. The Australian Labor party are centre-left unionists, vaguely corresponding to US Democrats and British Labour.
posted by Jimbob at 5:33 PM on August 9, 2006

However, fair call, they are too right-wing for me to vote for them these days ;)
posted by Jimbob at 5:35 PM on August 9, 2006

However, fair call, they are too right-wing for me to vote for them these days ;)

Shall we once again revel in the ability to cast preferential votes?
posted by pompomtom at 7:16 PM on August 9, 2006

We shall.
posted by Wolof at 10:11 PM on August 9, 2006

He'd better not be too critical

They are hardly going to be in a hurry to throw anyone out after the reaction to the Wolfgang incident last year (which culminated in his recent election to the NEC!).
posted by teleskiving at 5:30 AM on August 11, 2006