Are blogs an alternative to the media in discussing issues such as political corruption?

Abstract

The article analyzes the contribution of a set of independent blogs on the public
debate of four cases of corruption with great impact in Portugal, in 2009 and 2010. It is intended to determine whether the agenda of blogs is influenced by the agenda of the mainstream media in the approach these cases and if it follows or not the guidelines and interpretations of these means (McCombs: 2004). In particular, it seeks to empirical evidence on the ability of blogs selected to provide an alternative interpretation of those cases. The findings show that the agenda of the blogs was strongly influenced by the television and press agendas. The article concludes that in the corruption cases under review, the blogs are not constituted as an alternative space for discussion of the phenomenon of corruption, having being limited largely to comment news and opinions conveyed by the media, agreeing or disagreeing with their attributes.