We the Media

Chapter 3. The Gates Come Down

A peculiar silence reigned in most major newspapers and TV networks the first few days after Trent Lott, celebrating fellow Republican Senator Strom Thurmond’s 100th birthday in late 2002, seemed to wax nostalgic for a racist past. Lott, then majority leader of the U.S. Senate, recalled Thurmond’s presidential campaign in 1948, a race in which he called for the preservation of segregation. The nation would be better off if Thurmond had won, Lott said.

It was an outrageous assertion, but barely noticed at the outset. ABC News mentioned it. The Washington Post had a story but buried it. And that was about all we heard from the major media. But the silence didn’t last, because Lott got a taste of tomorrow’s media: the swarm of webloggers, emailers, and other online journalists who are changing some long-established rules.

The flow of outrage and information was complex. [66] But the bottom line was that webloggers and other online commentators, far more than mainstream journalists, kept the story of Lott’s remarks alive despite the major media’s early disinterest. Liberal bloggers, such as Joshua Marshall on Talking Points Memo, [67] were early to sound off, but several conservatives also chimed in. In some cases, bloggers were almost as outraged by Big Media’s inattention as by the senator’s statements and initially weasely expression of regret for his remarks.

A few days later, the story that didn’t go away was running, full-bore, in the national media. ...