Top Bloggers

Forbes recently published their end-of-year list of top blogs. The Forbes list stands out because it focuses on blogs that generate their fame primarily from the blogosphere. That means popular bloggers like author Arianna Huffington and journalist Michelle Malkin are disqualified from the list. This seems a bit random, but it is an attempt to evaluate the blogosphere more distinctly.

Not surprisingly, the blogosphere looks a lot like traditional media when it comes to diversity of voices. With the exception of age, (the average on this list is 37), the lack of diversity is glaring. Of the top 25 blogs identified by Forbes, 88% are published by men and 92% are published by caucasian bloggers. Studies show that women are more likely than men to publish blogs, but about 85% of editors of top blogs are male. That’s not surprising when you evaluate the portfolios of the top bloggers. While some have simply produced a high quality product that fits an unmet need, many come from the top ranks of corporate America, including a corporate attorney, a Microsoft executive, a Forbes editor, and a Senior Vice President at the global PR firm Edelman. Number two on the list - Michael Arrington - is a graduate of Stanford Law and a millionaire corporate executive. Many are accomplished authors.

Media ownership has always been overwhelming caucasian and male. According to a Benton Foundation report on radio and television station ownership, women account for only 3.4% of owners and minorities account for only 3.6%. Of those women and minority-owned stations, most are in rural areas and small towns.

Diversity failures also persist in television news. Only about one in ten of the Washington DC press corp are minorities. Public affairs programs that promote opinion - much like blogs - are male dominated. For example, on C-Span’s Washington Journal only 20% of the guests are women, and only 3% are women of color. About 8% of guests on Sunday morning talk shows are African American.

What does all this add up to? A world - both online and offline - that is dominated by caucasian male expertise and opinion. A lot of viewers and readers are finding that content enjoyable - but perspective from the full range of diverse voices can only serve to make public engagement more meaningful. A London-based group called openDemocracy is trying to change diversity and the media by sponsoring a site that is “read and used equally by women and men”. They promise to be “a source for the media for analysis, debate and discussion of global affairs”. Famous contributors have included dutch feminist Ayaan Hirsi Ali and former Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan.

Two of the top 25 Forbes bloggers are affiliated with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a legal advocacy group focused on the web. EFF has an excellent legal resource for bloggers (w2.eff.org/bloggers). If you write or manage a blog, it’s a good idea to make sure you understand your rights and vulnerabilities. Can you be sued for defamation when you criticize a public figure? Does the first amendment apply to you? Can you get a press pass as a blogger? The site gives you guidance on dozens of useful ways to protect yourself as a blogger as well as tips to assert your rights as a blogger.

Civil rights on the web is an emerging and important area of engagement. EFF has spent the last 17 years focused on legal advocacy for online users, including such causes as establishing that electronic mail deserves at least as much privacy protection as telephone calls and ensuring that bloggers have the same free speech rights as traditional journalists.