It is estimated that there are over 2 million Weblogs in the US, and a number of them are attracting a huge following which translates into money and influence. Today’s New York Times Magazine has a fascinating article on some of blogs that have changed the game for politics and journalism. Blogs such as DailyKos and Eschaton can reach up to half a million readers each day.
This summer, sitting in the Tank and reading campaign blogs, you could sometimes get a half-giddy, half-sickening feeling that something was shifting, that the news agenda was beginning to be set by this largely unpaid, T-shirt-clad army of bloggers.
The Web site onlineJournalismus.de reports that blogging still lags in Germany in terms of having any significant political influence. There are still very few German blogs, and most of them are devoted to personal musings: they are ‘Net Diaries’ (Netztagebücher). In the US, blogs have long since spilled into more serious journalistic realms, but the bloggers can express themselves or pursue a story without any constraints of deadlines or editoral policy:
Während in Deutschland Weblogs vor allem noch als Netztagebücher gesehen werden, haben sie sich in den USA zu weitaus Größerem entwickelt. Journalistisch brisante Themen bekommen dort eigene Weblogs und damit eine separate Diskussionsplattform. So erhält das Format immer mehr Einzug in die Welt des Journalismus. Übervorsichtig, fast wie eine Porzellanfigur, behandelt man hingegen das Thema in Deutschland. Qualitätsverlust und zu viel Freiheit für Journalisten und Korrespondenten lassen die Redaktionen vor einem Einsatz von Weblogs zurückschrecken. Deutschland macht sich wieder einmal viel zu viele Gedanken, anstatt Mut zu beweisen und zu handeln.
Along with the growing influence, US bloggers are developing sustainable business models that their German counterparts can only dream of. Writing in the NZZ-Online Martin Hitz can only marvel at the success of some of the US blogs in generating revenues from blog ads or readers contributions.
Während vor Jahresfrist etwa auf dem liberalen Weblog «Eschaton» der teuerste Werbeplatz noch für eine Jahresgebühr von 900 Dollar zu haben war, entspricht dieser Preis gemäss Copeland derzeit einer Monatsbelegung. Der konservative Blogger Greg Reynolds heischt für den «Premium slot» auf seinem Weblog «Instapundit.com» monatlich gar 3000 Dollar – ein nettes Nebeneinkommen für den hauptberuflichen Rechtsprofessor! Auf gut 10 000 Dollar habe sich der bisher grösste, auf einen einzelnen Blogger ausgestellte Monatscheck belaufen, erklärt Copeland.
In contrast, Hitz points out that one of most popular German blogs – Der Schockwellenreiter – takes in only €25 each month.
US political blogger Steve Gilliard discusses the what is driving the economic success of the blogs here:
The one point the article missed was the changing economics of the web. Blogs make money and are cheap to run, compared to what came before. By going small and doing most of the work yourself, you can make money. The real hero in this is not any blogger, but Henry Copeland of Blogads. The first truly honest ad broker. I don’t think Kos, Atrios or Jerome Armstrong would disagree. Copeland makes blogs possible, along with generous readers. Those two make this more than the hobby of the frustrated.
Some of the more sucessful political blogs in Germany are being incubated by media groups like Die Zeit. But until they can stand on their own with a self-sustaining revenue model, they will never achieve the journalistic independence that is the sine qua non of blogging.
