Hot Air was founded by Michelle Malkin in 2006, and the site is about ‘fighting hot air with Hot Air’. After noticing that a lot of politically-oriented videos online were produced ‘by liberals for liberals’, she created this site as a go-between, to ‘bring ideological diversity’. It mainly presents itself as a videoblogging site, but much of it is still text.
The current topic which is most prevalent on this site is the election in the US. Bloggers seem to be posting about the election regularly, and very often. In April alone, at least 13 of the 30 blog postings are about the election and its candidates. This is despite the fact that the postings can be about anything, and usually revolve around current news items.
The style of the blog is very casual and conversational, as it appeals to its contributors who also double as its audience. Most comments are very agreeable, as the site reflects what the average person thinks...because mostly, it is written by them. The site has a tremendous amount of links, from affiliates to radio stations, to other blogs, satirical cartoons and pure online entertainment. In this way, it probably increases its traffic, by linking to other sites. Per day, it has an average of 346,910 page views.
In terms of the election, there are multiple postings per day regarding this topic, with eight postings on April 4. Though some topics are quite trivial, such as Obama being a smoker, others discuss more newsy issues, such as the Clintons and their riches, and scandals in the election campaign.
The postings make comments on the current political situation which may or may not be highlighted in the media, but which definitely put them out there. In ‘Another fundraiser scandal for Hilary?’, blogger Ed Morrissey says, “In 2006, the Democrats ran against the “culture of corruption”. In 2008, they look more like the party of corruption. Hillary may soon disappear from the presidential election, but her legacy will continue.”
The posting is very cynical of politics (playing into what seems to be a theme on this site) and of the Democratic Party in particular, and thus, very one-sided. However, as it is a blog, opinions are rife. Though, I must admit that it would be nice to know that they tried to make it more even-handed…
Most who commented on this blog agree with the opinion of the blogger, and note that it is not new to hear of corruption in politics. They bring additional perspective to the posting, citing previous cases where corruption has been apparent, some humorously, some more seriously, but they all make the same point.
But this is just one example of the political, US election-centric posts, and there are many more and most likely, many more to come as this topic is continually brought back to the table.
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