Municipalist

Anonymous commenter outed as city councilor by local newspaper

Reason number 391 for those in the elected classes to establish their own blogs: Anonymous comments to a local newspaper Web site by one contributor -- who apparently used 38 aliases -- turned out not to be so anonymous after all. The newspaper, the Eagle-Tribune, outed him as a Haverhill, Mass. city council member. Why would they do that?

Terrific analysis here from Dan Kennedy at Media Nation:

It seems to me that the paper has chosen to humiliate Donahue for doing something the paper itself implicitly invited him to do, and that it used information available to no one else. If the Tribune had caught Donahue doing the same thing on, say, a non-Tribune blog, that would be fine. But this comes pretty close to entrapment, does it not?

Many of Kennedy's commenters agree. Some do not. All are smart and worth reading.

There is little doubt that local pols are doing this regularly: Posing as concerned citizens, they show up at various sites to offer their opinions to bolster their images or build support for their views. But when they do so, they need to realize they have little control over their words, promises of anonymity or not.

Also: Dead-tree publications are killing their own online efforts by such moves. Sure, this paper now has a mini-scandal of its own making here, which it can sell, with plenty of drama and self-righteousness. But it is a bad deal for newspapers. It is an attack on its own online community. It is short-sighted and naive.

Hat tip: Romenesko.

Update: Revisiting a tragedy

As newspapers go to court seeking to unseal case records in the murder of University of North Carolina student body president Eve Carson, it turns out that one of the accused should have been in jail at the time the murder was committed.

We recently re-read a conversation Municipalist had with Chapel Hill council member and blogger Sally Greene in March soon after Eve's murder. Greene knew Eve, and after Eve's death Greene blogged about a recent email exchange between the two. In our conversation, Greene reflected on her decision to publish that email, as well as how her community has dealt with the aftermath of the crime. These are good examples of an elected official effortlessly and sensitively joining the conversation that the entire community is having at that moment. Which really should be the first goal of any such blog. Sally now shares her blog with a contributor from Alabama.

Mississippi local leaders are blogging

Good story here.

Q & A: Sally Greene, town council, Chapel Hill, N.C.

The murder of Eve Carson, student body president at the University of North Carolina, shocked not only the lovely town of Chapel Hill, but the rest of the country as well. After much consideration, blogging town council member Sally Greene published an email she received from Eve several weeks ago. The post was noticed and linked at a blog from the local daily newspaper, as it showed Eve's connections extended into her community and to its issues, and beyond the university walls.

Sally was elected in 2003 and re-elected in November. Her blog has become a vital place for her to discuss not only important local issues but ideas and interests outside of her council responsibilities as well.

Municipalist contacted Sally days before Eve's murder, as we simply saw a blog that we liked and wanted to profile. Sally then agreed to not only answer our questions about her blogging experience, but to speak to her community's grief. Sally sent the following:

During my first campaign, blogs were still foreign to me. I did, however, make use of a listserv to keep my supporters informed on my positions, to let them know about campaign events, etc. After the election, I posted a note asking my supporters if they would like me to keep the listserv going. Yes! they said. So, after most council meetings or at other times when I have news to share, I’ll post a message. I did the same in my re-election campaign and have kept it up since. Folks have told me they appreciate hearing my take on things. Often they write me back with their own comments or concerns.

Q & A: Damien Blake, town council, Letterkenny, Ireland

Damien Blake, 25, a town councillor in Letterkenny, Ireland, writes a compelling blog filled with analysis of important local and national issues. Damien was that town's youngest councillor when elected in 2004, and last year served as mayor.

He has been active in working to push his political party, Fianna Fail, to be more Internet active. (More about Damien's party, Ireland's largest, here.)

As it happened, Damien was on his way this week to Boston and Washington, D.C. as part of an exchange program looking at the U.S. government and political system. Sitting in an airport waiting for a flight to the U.S., Damien consented to tell Municipalist more about his work and about the role of blogging among local and national office holders in Ireland:

How long have you been blogging?

I'm blogging since roughly June 2005, a few weeks before my term as Mayor began (Mayors in Ireland are elected from the Town/City Councillors for a one year term). At the time, no other Irish councillor was using blogging (beyond uploading press releases.)

I work in web design, so always believed that the web could be useful for both campaigning and for working as a politician. Blogging makes every part of that easier and better. Good blog platforms make posting updates really easy, it can be done in the short gaps between meetings from a cell phone if needed. I really love the interactivity, the way that every post on different blogs helps make the wider network stronger, by building links and connections and extending debate.

 

Some active Irish bloggers were really helpful at the start. James from Eirepreneur, at http://eirepreneur.blogspot.com/; Simon from tuppenceworth.ie; and Mick from SluggerOToole.com were really helpful early on. It was Damien Mulley from mulley.net who persuaded me to take the leap and open the comments on the blog, something no other politician was doing at the time. These guys really inspired me in the early days, and showed how effective blogging could be.

What has blogging accomplished for you?

Blogging has really helped me on a number of levels. On a local level, it helps show the wide range of work being done at a local council level without being fed through the local radio and newspapers. Local people in Letterkenny have left comments that have directed the way we look at policy on the council, and I appreciate getting the opportunity to go into detail on why some decisions were taken (some articles are over 1,000 words, approaching 2,000).

On a wider level, blogging has given me access to journalists on a national level. Posts from the blog have led to articles in many of Ireland's top newspapers, including the two top daily broadsheet newspapers. I have been interviewed on all Ireland's national radio stations, again coming from journalists picking up items on the blog. I was Mayor of a mid-sized town, and the blog raised not only my profile as a politician, but also allowed some of the work we do here in Letterkenny to get wider acknowledgement.

Blogging has introduced me to a wide range of people and a wide range of opinions. The support of other bloggers has been of great help.

Do you hear from constituents? What do they think of your blog?

Constituents comment on articles that they find relevant, although most comments come in through email rather than directly to the site. Blogging is not as main-stream in Ireland as it is in the USA, so many people are not familiar with the opportunities for discussion that a blog offers. Posts on local policing, planning and infrastructure are most popular for comments.

Are other elected/appointed office holders in Ireland/Europe doing this?

There are many now, in particular in the run up to the last General Election here in Ireland in May '07. I helped some candidates put together websites based around blogs. My favourite is Dara Calleary, a TD from Mayo.

Other prominent bloggers in the Oireachtas (Ireland's parliament) include Ciaran Cuffe, John Gormley and Senator Dominic Hannigan.

Do you recommend blogging to other office holders, council members, mayors, etc.?

Definitely. For very little time overhead you can build a really strong connection with your local community. I write about subjects that aren't being covered on other websites, and local people react to that. It is good for organising thoughts; blogging is much more natural than writing press releases, and it allows me to figure out my position on complex issues. And it lets your constituents know that you're working for them. Not everyone reads the local papers!

**************
11/01/07 UPDATE: Damien's visit to the U.S. sponsored by the Irish Institute at Boston College had quite an impact on him. Read about it here. A fellow participant offers some fascinating views on the U.S. here.