Comments on: Blogs in the news

Question: Blogs in the news

ascullion — Wed, 24 May 2006 05:18:37 -0800

I need some examples of (major) news stories that were either generated, or kept alive, by blogs and bloggers. but my mind has gone blank. Can anyone help? All suggestions welcome..

By: The Confessor

The Confessor — Wed, 24 May 2006 05:26:41 -0800

The most obvious example is Dan Rather's career-ending Forgery-gate. Not only were bloggers among the first to question the authenticity of the documents; their dogged pursuit of truth was what eventually led CBS to air a full retraction, which is a step very seldom taken by national news agencies.

By: bim

bim — Wed, 24 May 2006 05:32:03 -0800

Karl Rove's imminent indictment was much discused all over the internet, including here.

By: jonathanstrange

jonathanstrange — Wed, 24 May 2006 05:50:09 -0800

what about the Washingtonienne (sp?) scandal?

She even got herself a book deal...

By: Jaltcoh

Jaltcoh — Wed, 24 May 2006 06:11:13 -0800

Several blogs, particularly Talking Points Memo, generated interest in Trent Lott's scandalous remarks about Strom Thurmond, at a time when I believe the media were generally ignoring it.

By: inigo2

inigo2 — Wed, 24 May 2006 06:31:42 -0800

Does the swift boat stuff fit in there?

By: robocop is bleeding

robocop is bleeding — Wed, 24 May 2006 06:54:01 -0800

Guckert /Gannon!

By: docgonzo

docgonzo — Wed, 24 May 2006 07:38:18 -0800

The bird flu bloggers, of which I used to be one, have been quite active keeping concerns/fears over h5n1 up there. But I don't know how you'd measure impact, as their concerns are shared by much more influential people/orgs, like thw WHO, CDC, etc.

By: roundrock

roundrock — Wed, 24 May 2006 07:41:03 -0800

In the 2004 election, the television networks (shamed by the erroneous calls and retractions of Election 2000) pledged not to report exit poll data, but websites, including bloggers, showed no such restraint, reporting returns heavily favoring Kerry starting early afternoon. Bloomberg Financial News Service reported that traders who saw the numbers reversed their presidential bets from President Bush to Kerry, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by more than 100 points by late afternoon, with analysts blaming the reports of Kerry's imminent victory. The web-based reports of the exit polls also allegedly influenced last-ditch strategies of various campaigns an d preparations for victory/concession speeches.

By: freakystyley

freakystyley — Wed, 24 May 2006 07:50:46 -0800

Ah robobcop, you beat me to Gannon Gate!

By: hydrophonic

hydrophonic — Wed, 24 May 2006 08:46:54 -0800

Stephen Colbert at the White House correspondents dinner. Here's an interesting article of how it was handled it in the new media vs. the old. I was going to make this an FPP but I figured we'd gotten past the story by the time I found the article.

And of course, the Drudge Report broke the Monica Lewinsky story.

By: Scram

Scram — Wed, 24 May 2006 09:16:09 -0800

I won't self-link, but the Save the 76 Ball blog got covered on the BBC, KTLA morning news, and the front page of the LA Times.

By: allthewhile

allthewhile — Wed, 24 May 2006 09:45:00 -0800

I believe (and I could be wrong) but the website little green footballs was one of the first to break the "memo gate" scandal. There might have been others, but I know that they did a lot of the footwork when it comes to exposing the fraudulent anti bush documents presented by cbs as real.

Se here

By: allthewhile

allthewhile — Wed, 24 May 2006 09:47:22 -0800

Probably wasn't lgf, but rather posters from The Free Republic. See the wikipedia entry here: Rathergate

By: Biblio

Biblio — Wed, 24 May 2006 10:41:40 -0800

Interestingly, Powerline picked up on the Free Republic comments by "Buckhead" after being alterted to it by Buckhead's wife...who they did not id as such. This was a lot less "grassroots" than it appeared.

Also, Kos and ePluribus Media were instrumental in keeping the Tom Noe coingate story going. (I helped research the story for ePM)

By: hooray

hooray — Wed, 24 May 2006 11:25:36 -0800

Have you seen the similar question about products (not news) and blogs?

By: werty

werty — Wed, 24 May 2006 11:29:50 -0800

In the "news generated by blogs and bloggers" category, ye olde Metafilter did its part with the Kaycee Nicole hoax, which reached federal authorities at its peak. (see also: full summary [PDF]; MeFi's investigating)

By: ascullion

ascullion — Wed, 24 May 2006 14:25:04 -0800

thanks, those are all really helpful suggestions. much appreciated.