Iain Dale’s book of essays on and by political bloggers is available now from Politicos. But you can download the whole thing here, Slugger makes it in at number 18 overall and at seven amongst the non-aligned blogs. But the number one political blogger in the UK, it will surprise few to hear, is Guido Fawkes. Who also, as it happens, is to be a keynote speaker at the Irish Blogger Conference at the Digital Hub on 7th October.Guido also took the top slot in the Unaligned Section. He is not, as some have described him, a Tory attack dog, but has helped UK blogging make its mark in the wider public consciousness and has undoubtedly been a key contributor to Labour’s uncustomarily rough ride in the media recently.
He has also blown the big secret, that far from being parasitical on ‘legitimate journalism’, blogging has stirred and innervated good journalists to dig deeper and longer for detail in a story, that would otherwise have lain undisturbed in the bar of the lobby or the newspaper archives.
In Dublin he will focus on his experience of blogging in England, giving an insight as to how, in the space of two short years his blog has shot him from zero to the most talked about blog hero/villain of the Westminster Village. He’ll also talk about the breaking of news stories and how blogs can punch through the sometimes cosy consensus of the political lobby and established journalists.
Whether you are in politics, the media, or especially a blogger waiting to get your teeth into the first Irish elections to be comprehensively covered by the non mainstream, this is one event this year that you cannot afford to miss out on!
Keep checking IrishElection.com for the latest details.
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
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