I want to extend sincere congratulations to Pam Spaulding and her group at Pam's House Blend for making the top 50 political blogs in the USA (the Blend landed at #40). It's a well deserved achievement and we should all be proud of what the Blend has become. Getting to know Pam at the LGBT Blogger Summit last December was a real treat and her wit, passion and willingness to call things as she sees them are an inspiration. The Blend is definitely one of my must read blogs every day. The amazing thing, of course, is that bloggers like Pam make a difference without the huge funding available to the MSM which in comparison is too often lazy, unwilling to do more than parrot BS handed to it, and never willing to call folks bigots and liars. Here's some of Pam's reaction:*
[W]ritten by unfunded politically-minded, coffee-stained, PJ-wearing baristas, competing on the list against corporatized, institutional, media-backed and think-tank blogs on that list. If you removed all of those funded political blogs like The Politico, CNN's Political Ticker, Think Progress, et. al., the Blend would be in the top 25 political blogs in the nation.
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That's quite terrifying to me on some level to see the blog's reach and influence; after all, 1) it's not generated from inside the Beltway or a major media market; 2) it's a diverse roster of contributors; 3) it's run by a black lesbian with a lot of LGBT and race-focused content. I wonder what has been the reason for this success? I really don't have a clue when you see the Blend stacked up against all those other influential blogs.
*That's quite terrifying to me on some level to see the blog's reach and influence; after all, 1) it's not generated from inside the Beltway or a major media market; 2) it's a diverse roster of contributors; 3) it's run by a black lesbian with a lot of LGBT and race-focused content. I wonder what has been the reason for this success? I really don't have a clue when you see the Blend stacked up against all those other influential blogs.
Oh, just so you know, I've never been approached by any media entity or institution to "buy out" or fully subsidize PHB, so I doubt you'll see that happening any time soon, despite the ranking. It sits in an odd niche, has a quirky collection of voices, and no one would want to see it radically change even if that meant stability and guarantee of sustainability. Of course that also means it could just go away at any time due to its current model of flying by the seat of your independent pants.
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In my view, Pam is far too modest. She is an amazing person and a role model for those of us who are frustrated part time journalists and columnists. Again, congratulations Pam and crew!!
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