CNN BlogParty, Blog Party, BlogStock

The latest example of the mainstream reaching out to bloggers is CNN's "BlogStock", aka a "blog party" (1). They've invited a couple dozen mainstream bloggers to blog live from an internet cafe in Washington DC. Apparently this is supposed to be cutting edge, but most of those involved are partisan hacks. And, some of them qualify more as party operatives, with three of the "bloggers" working for magazines and one of those being the publisher editor-in-chief of the mag.

This is certainly a fun night out for the bloggers, and many people will celebrate this as a breakthrough for the medium. But, it's hardly leading edge, and all I expect out of at least those in the first two categories below is the same level of partisanship I've come to expect from their blogs.

Here's my breakdown of the participants.

The "Instapundit/GOP hack contigent":
* Instapundit
* Ann Althouse
* Ed Morrissey ("Captain Ed")
* Mike Krempasky
* James Joyner (OutsideTheBeltway.com)
* Scott Johnson (Powerline)
* Mary Katherine Ham (Townhall)
* Lorie Byrd (Wizbang)

The "Left wing of the Democratic Party contingent":
* John Aravosis (AmericaBlog.com)
* John Amato (Crooks and Liars)
* Duncan Black (employed by the Soros-funded MediaMatters for America)
* Christy Hardin Smith (FireDogLake)
* Bob Cesca (HuffPost contributor)
* Jerome Armstrong (MyDD.com; paid campaign consultant)
* Jeralyn Merritt (not as much a hack as naive)
* Judd Legum (ThinkProgress, run by the Clinton-affiliated Center for American Progress)

Magazine workers:
* Robert Bluey (Human Events)
* Nick Gillespie (lunatic libertarian publisher editor-in-chief of Reason Magazine)
* Jim Geraghty (NRO)

Not categorized:
Steve Clemons
Alex Pareene
Patrick Hynes
La Shawn Barber
Betsy Newmark
Patrick Gavin
Stephen Warley
Marc Lamont Hill
Pam Spaulding

Also, please don't miss my voting guide.

Bloggage · Tue, 11/07/2006 - 13:24 · Importance: 1