Type of Document	Thesis
Author	Tomaszeski, Michael Steven
URN	etd-11092006-182627
Title	A Baseline Examination of Political Bloggers: Who they are, their Views on the Blogosphere and their Influence in Agenda-Setting via the Two-Step Flow Hypothesis
Degree	Master of Arts
Department	Communication, Department of
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Steven McClung Committee Chair Jay D. Rayburn Committee Member Jennifer M. Proffitt Committee Member
Keywords	Media Agenda Political Bloggers Political Blogs Two-Step Flow Agenda Setting Blogosphere Blogs Influence
Date of Defense	2006-11-03
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract This is a baseline examination of political bloggers, it profiles who they are, discovers how they view the blogosphere, explores their motivations for blogging, and researches their influence on the media agenda via the two-step flow hypothesis. Key political organizations were asked which blogs they read to create a census of influential political blogs. The respondents of these blogs hailed from across the country and the political spectrum. Data was collected via a SurveyPro online questionnaire and tabulated with SPSS. The data revealed that bloggers tend to be married, educated, white males in their 40’s. They are concerned about their reputation as contributors of an online rumor mill. Most do not blog professionally and are not making money from their blogs. The data also showed a digital divide between minorities and the poor and a gender gap among political bloggers.
Files	Filename       Size       Approximate Download Time (Hours:Minutes:Seconds)     28.8 Modem   56K Modem   ISDN (64 Kb)   ISDN (128 Kb)   Higher-speed Access    examinationofpoliticalbloggers.pdf 386.04 Kb 00:01:47 00:00:55 00:00:48 00:00:24 00:00:02