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(WisPolitics) Milwaukee Notes April 28, 2007 
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Milwaukee Notes QUOTES FROM BLOG SUMMIT II “I'm already like the most hated black person in the mainstream media; why don't I try to become the most hated black person on the blogosphere?” --Columnist Eugene Kane, joking about why he took up blogging. “Charlie's online posts have pretty much become like an autocall to the Journal Sentinel editors.” --Democratic strategist John Kraus about conservative talk show host Charlie Sykes's blog. “Last year I wanted to use Ed Garvey's stuff as a promo, and now John's as well. The paranoia is interesting.” --Sykes “It's the same responsibility you have when you're having an argument at a bar. You don't want to be known as the guy who shoots from the hip and is full of crap.” --Republican consultant and blogger Brian Fraley on bloggers' responsibility to get their facts straight. “I don't understand politics ... It is such a painful exercise in stupidity.” --Blogger Dasha Kelly “I think there is a little bit of a danger of losing what makes citizen blogging unique.” --Blogger Jay Bullock on blogging by mainstream media outlets. “They just hate, hate blogs because it just blows their message control out of the water.” --Blogger Owen Robinson on how some politicians have reacted to blogs.
PANELISTS LAMENT BLOGOSPHERE'S LACK OF DIVERSITY AT BLOG SUMMIT MILWAUKEE--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist and blogger Eugene Kane called upon black media to commit resources to help make African Americans' voices heard in the blogosphere during a panel on diversity at a blog summit Saturday. Kane noted there are three African American newspapers in the city and a radio station, but none of them has a website that features bloggers, like other media sites are increasingly doing. “Clearly there's a disconnect here,” Kane said. “Black media certainly needs to be devoting some resources to starting up Internet sites where they can get into blogging because I think they're missing the boat on the impact of blogging on elections and social issues that crop up all of the time.” Moderator Mike Gousha pointed out that the audience at WisPolitics.com's second annual “Blog Summit” held at Marquette University Law School consisted mostly of white males, a demographic profile that largely mirrors the Wisconsin political blogosphere. “I'm glad you said that,” quipped Kane to laughs from the audience. But Kane said the problem isn't that black people don't have anything to say. “You go to the barbershop or the beauty parlor you hear so many rants going on,” Kane said. “There is ammunition or fodder for blogs throughout the black community.” About 90 people attended the roughly three-and-a-half hour summit, which consisted of a series of five panel discussions with top bloggers and political commentators from around the state. In addition to the panel on diversity, other topics included blogging's impact on the '06 and '08 campaigns, how blogging has affected journalism, the legalities of blogging and the future of blogging in Wisconsin. For a list of participants visit: http://www.wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=89895 Jennifer Morales, a Milwaukee school board member and blogger for OnMilwaukee.com, also lamented a lack of diversity on the blogosphere, saying she's been unable to find other blogs in Milwaukee that focus on Latino politics. She suggested that the economics of women's and minorities' lives likely makes it difficult to have time available for regular blogging. Dasha Kelly, a magazine writer, author and poet who also blogs for OnMilwaukee.com says it's important to reach out to those whose voices aren't being heard in the blogosphere. “With the media, with business, with everything else in society, we have to invite people to come tell their story,” Kelly said. “Once they're invited they'll come back.” Morales echoed that sentiment, saying that “it's no accident” both her and Kelly blog for OnMilwaukee.com. “We were invited.” Bloggers Jay Bullock and Owen Robinson commented on the future of blogging and led a lengthy discussion with audience members on a variety issues relating to blogging. Bullock, who authors Folkbum's Rambles and Rants, said he is encouraged by increased cooperation he has seen among blogs in not only coordinating messages, but action as well. But Bullock raised concern about increasing “corporatization” of blogging as mainstream media outlets are increasingly using the blog format. “I think there is a little bit of a danger of losing what makes citizen blogging unique,” Bullock said. He also expressed concern about polarization and “group-think” on the blogosphere. “It becomes very easy on the blogs only to hear the voices that already agree with you,” Bullock said. Robinson, who blogs at Boots and Sabers, stressed that the blogosphere developed organically and it is impossible to predict where it will go. “If any of you three years ago could have predicted where the blogosphere is today you'd be a millionaire,” Robinson said. Robinson noted that campaigns are increasingly incorporating Internet strategies into their overall strategies. “In the past, it was never even thought of,” Robinson said. And although politicians have embraced the medium to an extent, Robinson described a strained relationship with the blogosphere. “They just hate, hate blogs because it just blows their message control out of the water,” Robinson said, noting that “blog swarms” can filter up to mass media and cause candidates to lose control of their campaigns. The event was organized by WisPolitics.com and Marquette University Law School and was sponsored by AT&T. Gousha is a former Milwaukee news anchor who now is a Distinguished Fellow in Law and Public Policy at the Marquette Law School. An audio webcast of the summit will be available at http://law.marquette.edu/cgi-bin/site.pl?2130&pageID=3012
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