No blogger, um, alternative media practitioner summit this year?

WisOpinion editor Mike Schramm tells me that WisPolitics won’t be sponsoring a blog summit this year. He didn’t rule out another one in the future, but points out that this is an election year and they only have so many resources to expend on treating donut-eating, coffee-swilling political junkies to a morning of entertainment. (Okay, I might have stretched his meaning a bit in that last part.)

Sean Hackbarth persuaded 620-WTMJ to sponsor a citizen blogger seminar last year, and despite the fact that the panels were, ahem, quite excellent indeed, it was not very well attended. I haven’t been in touch with Sean lately, but after a stint with the Fred Thompson campaign that ended earlier this year, he is looking for a new job, and I’m sure he has priorities that are more important.

One Wisconsin Now sponsored a blogger get-together after the 2006 elections, but Cory Liebmann informs me that the group has no current plans to hold another one.

I try not to write about blogs or blogging that often since I don’t think I have a lot of insight about the subject. The form, the authors, and the readers all seem to defy easy descriptions or categories.

Still, it seems undeniable that in just a few short years, blogs have done a lot to change the media landscape in this country, particularly as it relates to coverage of politics. Nearly every major newspaper and broadcast outlet in the country is growing its online presence, and a major part of that growth seems to be repackaging reporters as bloggers.

Clearly, one thing that’s going on is the development of a readership willing to seek out alternative and niche media sources. Responding to this, several national blogs have advanced beyond single-person operations to emerge as full-fledged alternatives to traditional media outlets. When I first started reading Josh Marshall’s Talking Points Memo, he was soliciting readers to support his trips to New Hampshire to cover the 2004 presidential campaign; earlier this year, his vastly expanded empire won a major journalism prize.

Of course, not everyone wants to follow Marshall’s model. There are many other examples of individuals who developed a national following for their commentary and reporting, while still maintaining a day job.

Which is all well and good, but there was always a fair variety of choice nationally, even if you had to hunt for it among the broadcasters, columnists, and publications.

Locally, however, is where the development of independent voices and alternative media outlets is probably even more critical. Sources of news and information are concentrated in the hands of fewer and fewer companies, whose budgets, agendas, and priorities may or may not align with hard news gathering or serious political coverage. Local television, of course, continues to be awful.

It’s in this area that blogs can have a greater impact on actual issues, coalesce people around campaigns and ideas, and affect change. That ability is, of course, what separates blogging from model train enthusiasts.

But professionalism and experience are key in building the reputations of blogs as reliable and credible sources of information. There are blog authors that are doing some tremendous work on issues that traditional news organization either can’t or wouldn’t touch. For example, Jim Rowen's environmental coverage is dealing with issues at a level of detail that most organizations probably couldn’t manage. Cindy Kilkenny has turned into the scourge of open records administrators everywhere. In an era where government seems to be getting more secretive, the world needs more people like her. I would also note Michael Leon’s work, especially as it relates to jailed Wisconsin veteran Keith Roberts.

Not every blog author is capable of working at that level, and not all care to either. But the blog summits can provide an infrastructure where information, ideas, and techniques can be exchanged. In the long run, everyone benefits.

Perhaps the Drinking Right and Drinking Liberally groups could schedule a Drinking Together meeting to talk about common issues and ideas. Maybe there’s even a sponsor out there to help pay for donuts. (Charlie? I'm looking at you.) Mike Schramm has offered to help spread the word, and I’m sure others will as well.

2008 will see important elections nationally, but also at the state level. Blogs can play a role in helping voters understand the issues and get involved. It’s an opportunity we should try to seize.