Sundance Channel's 'Blog Wars'

I just finished watching another compelling Sundance Channel documentary, Blog Wars. Naturally, the big whig bloggers were interviewed along with some authors -- Andrew Sullivan (Conservative and harsh critic of George W. Bush for why he isn't a true Conservative), DailyKos founder Markos Moulitsas, staunch Iraq war supporter, journalist, author, and one of today's foremost intellects, Christopher Hitchens, and Jane Hamsher (Natural Born Killers producer and blogger for firedoglake.blogspot.com). This feature focused on the Connecticutt Democratic primary between Joe Lieberman and Ned Lamont.

Moulitsas and Hamsher dedicated their time and attention to this election, vehemently criticizing Joe Lieberman's support of the Iraq War. Bloggers shaped this primary. Lamont had no name recognition, demonstrated some stiff tension at some of his campaign stops, and appeared to be someone who had no chance when the primary began. Through the course of the race, Moulitsas and Hamsher convinced Connecticutt voters to support Lamont. And it worked. A multi-term, former Vice Presidential candidate was ousted by his own Party in the primary. Unbelievable.

As we all know, Lieberman won the general election when he ran as an Independent. Who could've predicted Ned Lamont came as close as he did? The bloggers helped pull him through, whether you agree with their approaches or not. I highly suggest if you carry the Sundance Channel to watch this documentary.

Here were some notable statements:

Andrew Sullivan believed in the power of blogging. He said if people know where you stand, your message becomes more believable to your readers. "The BBC is a left-leaning news service, but they don't tell you they are."

Christopher Hitchens said bloggers are self-centered and publish on this forum, since they can't get their works published anywhere else.

Personally, Moulitsas had some of the most compelling reasons for blogging. He said it's "people powered." Your credibility can be stripped away tomorrow. He further added bloggers don't have the formal training journalists have. The big difference: Moulitsas says he doesn't take himself seriously. As someone who worked as a journalist and does this as a hobby, a journalist's formal training is highly overrated. You learn how to write using the inverted pyramid, building a story in media res (human-interest story as an example), and AP style. When someone like Moulitsas receives more than 200,000 visitors per day, I'd say he has a much more profound impact than just about any cable news outlet, newspaper, and magazine.