Networked Media, Networked Rhetorics: Attention and Deliberation in the Early Blogosphere (Rhetoric and Democratic Deliberation)

In __Networked Media, Networked Rhetorics__, Damien Pfister explores communicative practices in networked media environments, analyzing, in particular, how the blogosphere has changed the conduct and coverage of public debate. Pfister shows how the late modern imaginary was susceptible to “deliberation traps” related to invention, emotion, and expertise, and how bloggers have played a role in helping contemporary public deliberation evade these traps. Three case studies at the heart of __Networked Media, Networked Rhetorics__ show how new intermediaries, including bloggers, generate publicity, solidarity, and translation in the networked public sphere. Bloggers “flooding the zone” in the wake of Trent Lott’s controversial toast to Strom Thurmond in 2002 demonstrated their ability to invent and circulate novel arguments; the pre-2003 invasion reports from the “Baghdad blogger” illustrated how solidarity is built through affective connections; and the science blog __RealClimate__ continues to serve as a rapid-response site for the translation of expert claims for public audiences. __Networked Media, Networked Rhetorics__ concludes with a bold outline for rhetorical studies after the internet. Examines Key Moments In The Early History Of The Blogosphere To Understand How Bloggers Use Digital Media Technology To Engage In Public Argument. Explores Blogging From A Rhetorical Perspective, Asking How The Digital Medium Of Communication Changes The Conditions For Persuasion--provided By Publisher. Three Challenges For Public Deliberation -- Cultural Technologies Of Publicity : Rhetorics, Public Spheres, And Digital Communication Networks -- Flooding The Zone After Trent Lott's Toast -- Ambient Intimacy In Salam Pax's Where Is Raed? -- Shallow Quotation On Realclimate -- The Prospects Of Networked Rhetorics. Damien Smith Pfister. Subtitle From Spine. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.