Governing at a distance-politicians in the blogosphere

Journal article

This paper examines blogs by three senior politicians as examples of governing at a distance. It considers how the translation of policy messages might be supported by what Scannell has called the 'for-everyone-as-someone' structure of communication. Three communicative characteristics of the blogs are considered: politicians' attempts to seem like ordinary people; their efforts to manage time and appear spontaneous; and their claims to be conversing with and listening to the public. The paper concludes by raising questions about the consequences of digitally mediated intimacy for democratic representation. © 2008 - IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved.

Authors: Coleman, S; Moss, G

• Journal: Information Polity
• Volume: 13
• Issue: 1-2
• Pages: 7-20
• Publication date: 2008-01-01
• EISSN: 1875-8754
• ISSN: 1570-1255
• Language: English