Okay, it's official. I'll be one of the Media Blogger Association bloggers credentialed for the Libby trial. I'm currently scheduled to be there Feb 26 through Mar 1st.
A lot has been written already, both about the trial, and about the bloggers covering the trial. You can find many such links at the MBA's aggregated feed. In addition, Marcy Wheeler has done incredible work covering the trial, including great live blog posts as the trial proceeds. (Be sure to buy her book).
So, what do I have to offer as a blogger, that isn't already being offered by other bloggers and by the members of the traditional media? What is my hook, my spin, my unique perspective? Over the next couple weeks, I'll spend time getting up to speed on the trial, and on how I want to blog about it.
My initial thought is that my interest won't be the standard legal type stuff that you can get everywhere else. I'm not a lawyer. The closest I've ever gotten to a trial has probably been watching Perry Mason as a kid, or waiting in the jury selection room, hoping I wouldn't get called.
I don't want to end up at the other end of the spectrum talking about which outfit which witness wore, although that is perhaps closer to what I'm interested in. Not so much the fashion side of things. People who know me understand I know nothing about fashion. I still don't get what is wrong with wearing both pink and red or checks and stripes at the same time.
No, what I'm interested in are things like the underlying narrative. What is the impalpable essence of the courtroom atmosphere as it relates to our national story that can't easily be summed up as "Today, Judith Miller testified that..." It has to do with our common story and perhaps a little bit with group dynamics.
Aldon, you have your work cut out for you. This jury was selected because of their lack of judgement on the Bush administration.
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