February 12, 2007

Blogger Spotlight: Reno And Its Discontents

After IA, but before NH, NV will host caucuses 1/19 and there is a thriving local blogosphere more than willing to help cover/affect the debate. Up first in our coverage: Reno and Its Discontents's Myrna the Minx.

What is your full name?

Myrna the Minx

What is your age?

I'll defer to Blanch DuBois on this one "...a woman's charm is 50% illusion."

What's your hometown?

I was born in Provo, Utah but have lived in too many places to have a "hometown." I consider wherever I live to be my hometown.

Where do you live now?

Reno, Nevada

What is your educational background?

I have a masters degree in literature and have completed some doctoral work.

What is your occupation?

That's top secret.

When did you first get involved in politics and why?

I've been actively political as long as I can remember--I was raised in a very politically active household. My parents taught us that our opinions were important and valued as long as you could defend them properly. In school, I was on the debate team, ran for office, all of that stuff. I even pick my music using a political barometer. That's why I'm such a big Joe Strummer fan.

When did you start blogging and why?

December, 2005. I started Reno and Its Discontents because I was living in the midst of an incredible time in Reno--the beginning of a downtown resurgence--and as a downtown resident watching the changes taking place from ground zero, I was inspired by them and I guess I wanted others to be inspired by them as well. Its amazing to watch a city rediscover its heart. The idea was that the blog would focus on the downtown resurgence and be a true community site where anyone could register and submit posts (without prior approval I might add). I wanted "the community" to discuss its own future on the blog, and I would say that I was semi-successful in reaching that goal.

The reason I've probably only been semi-successful is because I do have such a political focus on the blog. I can't help but express my political views and some people don't like them as you would expect. But I am a firm believer in the old feminist maxim "The personal is political." So everything I say, hear, read, observe, and think comes through that frame first. Honestly, I believe you're a fool if you ignore the impact politics have on our daily lives, and so when I write about my city, state, and country, that is always going to come through.

How are blogs changing politics in your state?

In a couple of ways. First, bloggers are filling in the blanks and adding context for citizens that main stream journalists often don't do or aren't allowed to. Sometimes the commentary may not be exactly fair, but for the most part, I think of bloggers as editorialists or columnists (unless its clear they want the title of citizen journalist), and we have some intelligent, hilarious, and resourceful bloggers who do a pretty good job of being fair when it counts.

Nevada bloggers are organizing. On the conservative side, you have Conservablogs.com in which organizers are provide blogs space for conservatives interested in blogging. They also have a group blog called Battle Born Opinion News Blog. Liberal and independent blogs communicate and support each other more informally, although we did just form a Nevada Political Blog Network on BlogAds.com as a way of hopefully generating a little revenue in return for the considerable time and effort most of us put into our blogs. I have found the political blogging network in Nevada to be very supportive, open, and entertaining--its a great community to be a part of.

The newest development is the state's rising importance in national politics thanks Jack Carter's failed Senate run and to the state's new status as a 2008 Presidential Democratic Caucus state. Both of those events have brought and will continue to bring a lot of attention and potential candidates to the state, and some of those potential candidates are making better use of blogs than others. John Edwards is a great example, because I he offers bloggers special interviews everywhere he goes. My blog was the only entity, blogger or journalist, to get a one on one interview with Edwards during his last visit. Not only does that kind of inclusion give bloggers a chance to meet a candidate, it also gives the campaigns an opportunity to build relationships with bloggers. Its smart politics in a state this size because the blog readership is large compared to that in other states. I think the impact of Nevada's blogs on national politics has yet to be seen, but the potential is great, particularly if more of the candidates take their cues from the Edwards campaign. But I think all of us are excited about the future.

What's your favorite most unsung specific example of a blogger affecting a political figure, organization, philosophy, or movement?

It was unsung although that's recently changed. I am a big fan of what Spocko of Spocko's Brain is doing as far as demonstrating how ridiculous it is for advertisers to be ignorant about the kind of programming they are supporting. The tolerance for hate speech on the right in this country is frightening. That being said, I think bloggers like Spocko and David Neiwert at Orcinus are fighting the good fight and everyone should be supporting what they do.

Be sure to check back tomorrow when we talk to Hugh Jackson of the Las Veags Gleaner

Posted by Conn Carroll at February 12, 2007 12:39 PM