That is a favorite quote of mine given by a spokesman for Bob Riley in response to asinine speculation on some blogs.

Today we have this headline on a Reuters story: Poll: Most Americans don’t read political blogs.

A majority of Americans do not read political blogs, the online commentaries that have proliferated in the race for the U.S. presidency, according to a poll released on Monday.

Only 22 percent of people responding to the poll said they read blogs regularly, meaning several times a month or more, according to the survey conducted by Harris Interactive.

…

Unlike traditional, mainstream media, blogs often adopt a specific point of view. Critics complain they can contain unchecked facts, are poorly edited and use unreliable sources.

I’m not sure if that last sentence is directed towards blogs or the “traditional, mainstream media.”

You can read more about the study on the Harris Interactive website, although the actual questions used to form the poll are not included.

The study and accompanying headline over little insight into the meaning of the data, though.  I would suggest that most people in this country aren’t terribly interested in politics and therefore wouldn’t be inclined to read political blogs.  Political blogs are the domain of the politically active and the political junkies.  Harris Interactive should have asked how many of the respondents actually cared about politics and followed up by asking them to name their two U.S. senators as proof they are at least minimally knowledgeable about politics.  Some quick looking around the internets at other polls indicates that typically only about 30-35% of people can name both senators, which isn’t much more than regularly read political blogs.  The 65-70% that aren’t politically involved enough to name their senators should be excluded from the sample population.

One of the more interesting findings that the media reports conveniently omitted was that 30% of regular blog readers consider blogs more accurate than the mainstream media, while 22% consider them less accurate and 48% deemed them “about as accurate.”  Also, nearly twice as many respondents classified as regular blog readers consider political blogs more valuable than mainstream media.

The poll comes on the heels of another Harris Interactive poll in which 54% of all adults said they “tend not to trust” the press. Ouch.  Radio led both Republicans and Democrats (!) as the form of media they tend to trust.  “Internet news and information sites” (not sure if that includes “political blogs”) was second among all adults in the “tend to trust” ranking.

I’ll climb on my soap box now…

Personally I like political blogs (as you might expect).  I think they are a great way for politically interested individuals discuss what is happening in the halls of power.  You should approach them with the proper perspective, though.

Bloggers have agendas.  Deal with it and don’t forget it.  One could argue that traditional media has them as well, but they are filtered more finely through editorial processes.

You can learn from blogs, but don’t trust them to be accurate.  Do your own independent research to confirm or deny anything you read on a blog.

Commenters can be mean and ignorant (the two typically go hand in hand).  Don’t take it personally.  Ignore it if you can.

Some bloggers think they are junior journalists, but they aren’t.  It takes no formal training to operate a blog.  Theoretically our work doesn’t measure up to the standards employed by reputable news outlets.  Keep this in mind.  If you’ve been reading about something salacious on blogs for a while, but it hasn’t made it into the mainstream media there is probably a reason, namely a dearth of concrete details and credible witnesses.  Say what you will about corporate media ownership they are in business to make money and scandal sells.  If they can justify printing a story that will attract ears and eyeballs you can bet your house they will run it - if it meets their standards (and occasionally when it doesn’t).

I don’t pretend to be some type of reporter and I don’t put on airs that I am unbiased.  I try to be factual and I beg you to point out any errors I ever make.  You’re not going to hurt my feelings.  I choose not to have advertisements here; we are all exposed to enough of that.  I blog because I’m a political addict and this is my hobby, my outlet.  It’s a hell of a lot cheaper than golf.  I’m not a trained writer - and it shows.  I enjoy vigorous discussion and I try to be respectful to opposing viewpoints.  You’re always welcome to kick off your shoes, look around, and engage in a dialog.