| Celebrities have attempted to exert their political influence and power to persuade, in many instances in the past. Even when celebrities are not exerting their potential political force, they sometimes make political statements. At the same time that celebrities are becoming more vocal with political statements, the Internet is becoming a hotbed for political communication, activism, and two-way conversations. In this rising popularity for the Internet as a political information and mobilization source, weblogs (blogs) have become a way to personalize a key political message. Blogs, often likened to online journals, have been called "a soap box," and many celebrities are among the 4.12 million bloggers online. This two-part study examines the content of 46 self-run celebrity blogs, paying attention specifically to the political messages posted on them and the effects of the content on the readers.;Items (N = 1282) were randomly selected using a stratified sampling method for content analysis using the webstyle method. Posts ( n = 700), comments (n = 534), and trackback messages (n = 48) were collected over a 10-month period spanning February through November 2003. In this phase, it was discovered that 15.2% of the content analyzed contained political messages. Political issues are discussed in posts, comments, and trackbacks.;Readers from three celebrity blogs were surveyed (N = 1837). The readers surveyed indicated entertainment, passing time, and information as motivations for reading the celebrity blogs. Readers did not report using celebrity blogs for political content or information; however, they were not likely to avoid blog content if it contained political messages. Additionally, information efficacy, and political cynicism were investigated as they related to reading political messages on celebrity blogs. These political variables were tested for differences based on demographics such as gender, party identification, and education. |
