Although the most influential commentators in Britain seem disinterested in starting weblogs at this time, the British online scene is getting richer with "would-be broadsheet columnists" who run political blogs, writes Matthew Tempest in the Guardian. He asserts that Britain is starting to follow America's lead, using weblogs to make a political statement. At this time, he observes that the conservative right has a bigger presence online in Britain than the liberal left. One of the reasons why the leftists are not better represented in blogs may be that they are "just too divided and disorganized to put up an online fight," he adds. Tempest briefly reviews several U.K. political blogs. Among them, Voxpolitics.com is about e-democracy. Shamedagain.blogspot.com is a "simple, comment-free resource of all those 'Britain has Europe's largest/poorest/longest/worst/least...' stories." And Alister Black's blog includes "theories on the conspiracy end of the spectrum that never get any mainstream media scrutiny."

The Guardian invites those who write, run or know of Political blogs they believe should be reviewed to contact the paper at politics.editor@guardian.unlimited.co.uk.

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In a commentary for the Toronto Star, Antonia Zerbisias calls the Internet "a distant outpost, inhabited by the hardy and hell-bent on maxing out their plastic." Zerbisias is critical of how the Internet has shaped journalism. She says she feels bloggers are "opinionators," who set out to draw feedback and link to other sites, but rarely do any original reporting, investigative research or event coverage. One of the reasons for this, she says, is the lack of monetary compensation and funding. Still, Zerbisias does approve of some online news outlets. She says sites such as legitgov.org, mediachannel.org and salon.com succeed in expressing the alternative voices and serve as a "check on the corporatized media that serve the bottom line or their master's vice." The sites, however, are in financial trouble and may not survive (see recent brief). Zerbisias says salon.com reported in its securities filing that one of the threats to its future is "politically and culturally charged content" that rages advocacy groups and deters advertisers from doing business with salon.com. This is why advertisers prefer to place their ads on shows that "air Michael Jackson's dirty linen," she says.

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