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Do what journalists aren't willing to do
The single greatest thing that local and state blogs can do is dig up what the media won't.
This last cycle, our local blog (loadedorygun.blogspot.com) dug up and published several stories on local politicos that the regular media wasn't writing about.
Those stories eventually creeped into the regular media, giving them the kind of exposure they would never have had.
Good local bloggers can create information networks with political staffers, insiders, various journalists and other informed folks. These folks give us great news tips and then we suss them out.
We have a code of ethics at our blog where we will not publish a story that we can't independently cooberate. That's given our blog a sense of independence while still allowing us to advocate for progressive candidates and issues.
Its crucial for bloggers to push stories that the media either won't or can't seek out. That kind of push eventually gets them seen...which creates a pushback against the rightwing media stuff that we constantly fight.