Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2008 The mpI act of Blogs on State Politics Emily Metzgar Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Mass Communication Commons Recommended Citation Metzgar, Emily, "The mpI act of Blogs on State Politics" (2008). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 1398. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/1398 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. THE IMPACT OF BLOGS ON STATE POLITICS A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Manship School of Mass Communication by Emily Metzgar B.A., University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, MI, 1993 M.A., The George Washington University - Washington, DC, 1997 August 2008 © Copyright 2008 Emily Therese Metzgar All rights reserved ii To my parents. Thank you. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many people contributed to the successful completion of this project and while space does not permit me to list all of them, several individuals deserve special mention. First, thank you to the chair of my committee, Dr. Kirby Goidel, who smilingly processed my ideas while simultaneously offering more realistic options. I have appreciated his support, his humor and his willingness to give me enough rope to get into trouble. The other members of my committee also offered invaluable guidance and support throughout the process. Dr. Margaret DeFleur ensured I did not get too carried away with my application and interpretation of mass communication theories. She also guided me past some difficult administrative and other hurdles. Meanwhile, Dr. David Kurpius kept me from wandering too far into the political wilderness without tying my findings to journalistic realities. And Dr. Jim Garand from the Department of Political Science helped me keep it all in a multi-disciplinary perspective. I also want to thank Dr. Andrew King from the Department of Communication Studies who served as the Graduate School’s representative on my committee. I have appreciated his enthusiastic interest in and support for this project. Thank you also to Jack Hamilton, Dean of the Manship School of Mass Communication, whose friendship and support I value greatly. He has created a collegial environment conducive to academic pursuits and I have truly enjoyed being a part of it. Finally, a heartfelt thank you to my dear family and friends who helped me over the finish line. I could not have done this without you. Emily Metzgar August 2008 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION.......................................................................................iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.....................................................................iv ABSTRACT..........................................................................................vii INTRODUCTION..................................................................................1 A Noteworthy Incident ...............................................................1 Blogs and Politics........................................................................3 New Players, New Pressure Points, New Politics ...........4 Blogs in the Political Environment................................. 7 Politics and the Distribution of Information..................9 Origins of This Project ............................................................. 11 Organization ............................................................................. 12 LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................... 15 Overview of the Literature....................................................... 15 Uses and Gratifications................................................. 16 Framing ......................................................................... 20 Agenda Setting .............................................................. 26 News Norms, Routines and the Agenda ....................... 31 Media, Discourse and Political Participation............... 35 Blogs as Public Sphere .................................................. 43 Blogs at the Intersection of Media and Politics............ 46 RESEARCH QUESTIONS, METHODS AND SURVEY .................. 51 Research Questions................................................................... 51 Methods..................................................................................... 51 Survey ....................................................................................... 52 Design ............................................................................ 54 Results ........................................................................... 55 Discussion.................................................................................. 67 DISCUSSION ....................................................................................... 69 The General Blogger Profile..................................................... 69 Political Cynicism and Efficacy................................................ 70 Blogs and Attention .................................................................. 72 Blogs and Journalism ............................................................... 73 To the Case Studies................................................................... 73 CASE STUDIES................................................................................... 75 Introduction.............................................................................. 76 Illinois: Rage Against the Vaccine ........................................... 81 Emergence ..................................................................... 83 Definition/Conflict......................................................... 86 v Resonance...................................................................... 87 Equilibrium/Resolution................................................. 89 Discussion ...................................................................... 90 Kentucky: Keeping the Doors Open ........................................ 91 Emergence ..................................................................... 92 Definition/Conflict......................................................... 93 Resonance...................................................................... 94 Equilibrium/Resolution................................................. 95 Discussion ...................................................................... 96 Louisiana: Internet Kooks Intervene....................................... 97 Emergence ..................................................................... 97 Definition/Conflict......................................................... 99 Resonance.................................................................... 101 Equilibrium/Resolution............................................... 102 Discussion .................................................................... 103 Concluding Thoughts ............................................................. 105 CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................ 108 Putting the Findings in Context ............................................. 109 Audience, Public Sphere and Democratic Discourse . 109 Blogger Characteristics............................................... 110 Limited State Media Resources .................................. 111 States as Policy Labs ................................................... 112 Failure to Attribute..................................................... 113 Big Fish, Small Pond Effect ........................................ 114 Sensitivity to Constituent Input.................................. 115 Unaccustomed Attention for Uncommon Players...... 115 Identification of Trade-Offs........................................ 116 Beyond the Basics ................................................................... 117 Prospects for Future Research ................................... 117 REFERENCES................................................................................... 122 APPENDIX A. STATE BLOGGER SURVEY QUESTIONS......... 135 APPENDIX B. STATE BLOGGER SURVEY RESULTS.............. 154 APPENDIX C. BLOGS CONTACTED FOR THE SURVEY ........ 167 VITA................................................................................................... 172 vi ABSTRACT “Information is the currency of democracy” ~Thomas Jefferson This research offers the first comprehensive study of state-focused political bloggers in the United States. Applying original data from the author’s nationwide survey of state-focused bloggers conducted during the summer of 2007, this study addresses three primary research questions: Who are the people creating blogs focused on state politics? What motivates these people to initiate and maintain their blogs? Do these blogs play a discernable role in a given state’s politics, and if so, how? Rooted in the literature of framing; agenda setting; uses and gratifications; news norms and routines; media and democratic accountability; and political knowledge,