Maguire: MPSA Paper on Blogs

In April, UW Oshkosh Journalism professor Miles Maguire presented "Online Debates: Using the Blog to Promote an Engaged Electorate" at the annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association. Maguire says the key sections include:

A political debate necessarily involves multiple constituencies with often conflicting agendas. What works well for candidates may not work well for the media. Similarly, what suits the media or debate sponsors may not well serve the public (Jackson-Beeck and Meadow). As demonstrated in Oshkosh, the Web log has the potential for bringing these agendas and priorities into greater alignment. Because, like the rest of the Internet, it can be a disintermediating force, the Web log can create an arena where candidates and voters interact directly without the distorting effects of the traditional news media or the formats that may be favored by traditional debate sponsors.

Nonetheless the Oshkosh debates can best be described as a qualified success. There is scant evidence that the blog format either increased voter participation or affected voting decisions. But the blog debates demonstrated a willingness among candidates and voters to engage with new technology as a way of furthering political debate. Both candidates and voters saw benefits to the blog format, and there were indications that the blog format could enrich and improve local political discourse.

Because of its low cost and ease of use, the Internet provides enormous opportunities to address complaints about political debates. In addition to the blog format, debate sponsors should consider experimenting with other possibilities provided by the Internet, including chat rooms, video, and audio.