Bloggers & Opinionators

Blogosphere is a term some writers have used to describe the grassroots and interactive journalism made possible by participants in blogs (logs or journals maintained on the Internet) and the symbiotic relationship between bloggers and traditional journalists. In this relationship, bloggers often cite and link to mainstream news articles and mainstream journalists often get story ideas from blogs they monitor.

One observer likens the millions of blogs and their contributors and users to a blog biosphere or ecosystem. Another view is that the participatory phenomenon of the blog and its impact on journalism has created the 21st century equivalent of the 18th century coffee house, a place where anyone interested could meet to exchange news and opinions in public.

Blogs allow grassroot news to be developed by eyewitnesses or those with expertise or interest in a particular subject area. The blog format allows readers to add further information or corrections. Journalists can then report and consolidate blog leads into stories for a wider audience. And, in turn, bloggers will tend to refer to these stories, sometimes using them as touchstones for additional news or opinion. The events of "post-9/11," for example, have generated thousands of blogs (sometimes known as "warblogs") that in turn have triggered a significant number of news articles. Meanwhile, blogs are said to be generating so much traffic at some sites that they're affecting server bandwidth.

Many blogs syndicate their content to subscribers using RSS, a popular content distribution tool.
 
 

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Recent News

Democrats Wave Social Security Bloody Shirt

September 2, 2010
FactCheck.org says White House and Democrats are distorting Social Security issue:  "The president claims Republican leaders are as eager to 'privatize' Social Security as they are to repeal his health care law. That's not true."
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Smackdown of Obama by Supreme Court may be inevitable

August 22, 2010
Source: Examiner.com
According to sources who watch the inner workings of the federal government, a smackdown of Barack Obama by the U.S. Supreme Court may be inevitable.
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Social Security Cuts Weighed by Panel

August 20, 2010
Many Washington insiders predict that any 2011 debate on Social Security will focus on the issues of benefit cuts and tax increases. In addition to raising the retirement age, which is now set to reach age 67 in 2027, specific cuts under consideration include lowering benefits and trimming annual cost-of-living increases.
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How to escape 'cyber past'

August 18, 2010
The private lives of young people are now so well documented on the internet that many will have to change their names on reaching adulthood, Google’s CEO has claimed.
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Obama’s (Latest) Social Security Whopper

August 16, 2010
Source: FactCheck.org
President Obama claimed that Republican leaders are pushing to make "privatizing Social Security a key part of their legislative agenda" should they regain control of the House and Senate. He said this is "right up there on their to-do list with repealing" parts of the new health care law.  FactCheck.org finds the president’s claim to be mostly false.
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Threat to Boomers' Retirement

August 16, 2010
Older workers, who typically fared better than their younger counterparts in recessions, have been hit just as hard by layoffs this time around. As a result, the fraction of people 65 or older who are working has leveled off after a long period of growth. As of July, it stood at 15.9%, down from 16.3% in mid-2008.
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