MyDD :: Blog Local

Blog Local

by Melissa Ryan, Sat Jun 02, 2007 at 06:59:25 PM EST

Thanks to Chris Bowers for giving me this opportunity and to the MyDD community for being so welcoming. Some of you may know me as CGG which was my old name here for commenting.

Yesterday was one of the craziest days I've experienced in Connecticut Politics, and believe me with last year's Senate race I've witnessed some serious political craziness. First, Lou DeLuca The Republican State Senate minority leader, was arrested, and charged with conspiracy to commit threatening. The arrest was the result of a longtime investigation into mob influence on the State's trash hauling industry. Then, late last night, after two years of essentially doing nothing about energy, the CT House overwhelmingly passed an energy bill compromise that probably won't do anything to lower our sky high electric rates.

As I'm following both of these stories, my new gig here at MyDD is always on my mind. What should my first post be about? How do I balence work at both blogs, especially when so much is going on here at home?

At some point after the energy bill had gone through and I'd stopped making frantic phone calls to get more information, it occurred to me that yesterday was a perfect example of why blogging at the state and local level is so important. Bloggers here have been hard at work covering the Legislative session. Anyone who follows politics on sites like My Left Nutmeg and CT Local Politics could put both of yesterday's events into context quickly. They knew that Senator DeLuca was a ticking time bomb, and that dueling energy bills were making their way through our House and Senate. CT bloggers had worked long and hard to give citizens a window into the State Legislature.

Through blogging about State and local issues I've learned a great deal about how my elected government operates, and hopefully those reading along have too. Before this year I had a general idea of how a bill became law in Connecticut. Now I have a thorough understanding of the process. That experience helps me as a blogger, a voter, and most importantly as an advocate for issues I care about.

One of my favorite things about local blogging is the low barrier to entry. Anyone can start covering their state legislature, or municipal government and put their work online. The local media often does a mediocre job of covering this stuff, and there's an audience out there hungry for more information. Communtiy blogs like those on the MyDD States Blogroll offer an instant audience where good work will get noticed and provide a valuable service to others in the community.

Perhaps I'm just preaching to the choir here but I would encourage any aspiring political bloggers out there to blog local. Movements are built from the bottom up, and I can't think of a better place to begin than in your own backyard.

Tags: blogosphere, local blogging, local blogs, local democratic party, local government, local and state politics (all tags)

Permalink :: 10 Comments :: Post a Comment

Re: Blog Local (3.00 / 1)

Congrats to MYDD for picking Caffeinated Geek Girl (http://caffeinatedgeekgirl.typepad.com/ ),Oops I mean Cgg, oops again I mean Melissa Ryan to be one of your new weekend posters.

You'll not only be able to call her any of those three names to get her attention you'll get the work of three normal people out of her.

by ctkeith on Sat Jun 02, 2007 at 08:15:44 PM EST

Re: Blog Local (3.00 / 1)

I second ctkeith's sentiments. Melissa is one of the hardest working bloggers in CT and MyDD is lucky to have her.

[Spazeboy.net][Ned Lamont Resource]

by spazeboy on Sat Jun 02, 2007 at 08:27:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Blog Local (3.00 / 1)

I third ctkeith's sentiments and second spazeboy's... and Melissa's. It's great to see more and more local bloggers getting a national platform.

by tparty on Sat Jun 02, 2007 at 11:47:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Blog Local (none / 0)

Good luck, Melissa!

by AaronE on Sat Jun 02, 2007 at 08:59:24 PM EST

Re: Blog Local (none / 0)

Congratulations, Melissa!

In your experience, what is the best way to acquire information about the legislature's work? What lessons have you learned that would be useful for a new state politics blogger?

by Hellmut on Sat Jun 02, 2007 at 10:52:09 PM EST

Re: Blog Local (none / 0)

I second this question. And I'd like to say that you're off to a great start here.

Blogging for Alabama at LeftInAlabama

by Mooncat on Sun Jun 03, 2007 at 12:25:50 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Excellent Question (3.00 / 1)

There's probably an entire post in that question.

The short answer is that bloggers started showing up at the Capitol for hearings, votes, etc. Early in the session Spazeboy worked with House Democrats to organize a tour of the capitol and issues briefing especially for bloggers. That gave us a basic understanding of how things worked as well as a chance to meet with committee chairs. We also came to public hearings, debates, votes and wrote about what we saw. When no one could be present for something important we could tune into CT-N which is a local version of C-Span. They'd broadcast most of what we wanted to follow on television and the web. CTBlogger also uploded highlights from several hearings and votes, and made them available for anyone to use in their posts.

At My Left Nutmeg live blogging the Legislature has became very popular. With the help of CT-N people could recap and comment in real time. Some legislators have even been known to jump in once in awhile!

Over time bloggers developed relationships with elected officials, staffers, advocates, and journalists. We learned who to contact for information, assistance, etc. For the most part people were happy to see someone so interested in what they were doing, and why.

Initially my only interest was helping the Plan B bill get passed. It had died the previous year in committee and I wanted to know why. I was following one particular bill, but of course it went through the same process that most every bill does. It was only afterwards that I realized that by following one bill so closely I'd actually learned quite a bit about how a bill becomes law.

I'd start off by following one or two bills that matter to you personally. Identify key players of the bill like co-sponsors, committee chairs, opponents, and lobbyists. Don't be afraid to contact those people and ask questions. Also, send a follow up email to everyone you meet. That way your email is in their address book.

Follow the chosen bills as they go through the system. (Hopefully they won't die early on!) Be present whenever you can, and use the contacts you've made to follow it when you can't. Also collaborate with other bloggers. You can accomplish more working together in a team.

I have to stop now before this does become a full post! Perhaps I can expand on it further next week.

by Melissa Ryan on Sun Jun 03, 2007 at 12:27:31 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Excellent Question (3.00 / 1)

Thanks, Melissa. That's great advice. As a father, I cannot afford to donate that much time but I might assign my students bill coverage on a blog.

May be, you could write a number of case studies that illustrate how you collected information. These case studies could become the teaching curriculum for new bloggers.

Business schools like to teach their MBA candidates with case studies and I use them to teach foreign policy. It's a great way to relate complex knowledge and to give students perspective.

In light of your post, it seems to me that there are a lot of people could benefit from your experience as well. Who knows, even a journalism class might benefit from your case studies.

by Hellmut on Sun Jun 03, 2007 at 10:06:20 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Excellent Question (3.00 / 1)

You did catch onto one important thing I didn't mention. Blogging is time consuming! I work full time but have the benefit of a somewhat flexible schedule. And again, no one blogger can make it to everything. That's why having more than one person and blog cover stories has to be part of the equation.

by Melissa Ryan on Sun Jun 03, 2007 at 10:20:54 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Blog Local (3.00 / 1)

I think another important aspect to earning money by blogging is the emerging potential of video. Through sites like Blip, Revver, MetaCafe, and many others, bloggers could begin using video content to really boost profits. Short news clips and political rants are perfect for this medium, and are currently not as widespread as I suspect they'll be in they near future.

by blueflame on Sun Jun 03, 2007 at 01:53:21 AM EST

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