The live Senate hearings on Samuel Alito’s nomination to the Supreme Court could transfix the nation…or people may decide that they’re more interested in the new season of American Idol. It’s too soon to say.
But some bloggers are out ahead of the curve in attempt to live-blog the hearings, including the group-written SCOTUSblog and liberal firebrand Firedoglake. Others are blogging it closely, though not trying to semi-transcribe the play-by-play, the essence of live-blogging. They include the Redstate.org-connected ConfirmThem group blog, and Planned Parenthood’s SaveRoe blog.
The Washington Post and the New York Times are both also providing blog-like coverage of the hearings, though–amazingly enough–it appears that they have figured out how to make sure their blogging is as stilted and boring as their regular news pages. C’mon, guys, loosen up! Give us some color!
An example from the Post’s blog (which amusingly includes a comment from someone using the name Samuel Alito):
When Alito expressed concern about reapportionment decisions, Feinstein asked, “What exactly did you mean by this?”
Feinstein also said she was troubled by Alito’s statement in that application that the “Constitution does not protect” a woman’s right to an abortion.
Some Feinstein excerpts are below….[ZZZZzzzzz]
You get the picture. You also see why we may all flee for American Idol before this is over. (In fairness I should say that the Times’ blog, which is called “Reporters Notebook” actually does share some revealing anecdotes about the politicking around the hearings.)
It will be interesting to watch how this plays out over the course of the hearings, but my guess is the live-bloggers will likely get more traffic then the post-a-couple-times-a-day blogs. That’s because people turn to the net for the latest news, not news that’s a few hours old. (See how Engadget dominated coverage with their liveblogging of the CES electronics show this past week in Vegas.)
Yes, they also look for smart commentary and analysis. But if you’re an interest group hoping to affect online perceptions of the Alito hearings, you probably should be live-blogging the event. Or, offering lots of pizza, donuts and coffee to the bloggers who are!
Speaking of which, if you are live-blogging the hearings, or know someone who is, feel free to jump in with a comment below.
Tags: alito media live-blogging