Wisconz in
Protests
An interview with local political blogger, Jack
Craver, explores the role of political blogging
in the recent Wisconsin protests.
By: Melissa Grau
I
agreed to meet Jack Craver, a.k.a.
the Sconz, in Der Rathskeller of
Memorial Union. I figured the
dark, German-inspired social space on a
temperate Friday afternoon would be un-
concerned with the drumbeat circles and
roaring crowds surrounding the Capitol
these days. As I sat down at one of the be-
lovedly worn wooden tables, I realized my
mistaken assumption. Engraved haphaz-
ardly next to dozens of other inscriptions
were the words, “Vote YES on the bill.”
Next to the politically-charged message
rested the most recent copy of the Isthmus,
with Jack Craver’s cover story portraying
Republican Sen. Glenn Grothman as “The
Agitator,” face up. I guess even after three
weeks, you cannot escape the agitating hit
story: Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s
Budget Repair Bill sparks controversy and
protest in Wisconsin.
“It’s rare that
something like this
happens in Wisconsin,
where we’re the center
of the universe for a
few weeks”
As I peruse Craver’s chronicle on
“Madison’s #1 nemesis,” the Sconz himself
approaches me wearing a red Wisconsin
Alumni shirt and a smile. Craver, 22, is a
recent University of Wisconsin-Madison
graduate and political blogger who is
now employed by alternative newspaper,
the Isthmus, as reporter and site blogger.
Like like many other political bloggers, he
spent the last three weeks at the Capitol
breaking news about Walker, the labor
protests and the missing Democrat sena-
tors, exemplifying the blogosphere’s revo-
lutionary role in political communication.
“It’s rare that something like this
happens in Wisconsin, where we’re the
center of the universe for a few weeks,” said
Craver. “I felt pressure to take advantage
of it…Wisconsin is something people care
about, so all of a sudden, I’m relevant.”
Jon Stewart and the Daily Show
also felt compelled to take advantage of
what Stewart called, “Crisis in the Dairy-
land” by depositing a camel in Madison
to parody protests in the Middle East and
North Africa. Craver scrounged for his
flip camera when he witnessed the camel
slip and struggle in the snow. The acci-
dental footage appeared on all three major
news networks and exposed Craver on a
national level.
“They totally fucked it up,”
said Craver when asked how the news
networks, like FOX, framed his footage.
“FOX doesn’t seem interested in any of the
specific details of what’s going on in Wis-
consin…there’s this right wing narrative
that they follow.”
When asked if local bloggers like
him are doing a better job of accurately de-
picting the events at the Capitol, Craver said,
“It just depends on who is there breaking
the stories and who’s there taking video of
the crowd.” He said that the time and space
constraints of traditional media prevent it
from giving full context to a situation.
Craver thinks bloggers are able to
provide that context and give color to the
narrative, which help serve their audience
and communicate a full, albeit sometimes-
opinionated view.
A protestor raises an upside-down
flag to symbolize wide animosity
towards the proposed bill.
“Blogging can be objective and it
can be opinionated,” just like traditional news
media, said Craver. But as a news source, es-
pecially at the local level, “the power of blogs
is just too great to ignore anymore.”
Quick Profile:
Jack Craver
Wisconsin-based political
blogger, Jack Craver, 22,
began to write for the
alternative newspaper, the
Isthmus, as a reporter and blogger in 2010.
His blog, The Sconz, has quickly become a
popular reference for Madisonians to stay
up-to-date on Wisconsin events and gain
progressive, yet comical, insight to local
issues. Craver’s “Sconz Nation” is a pasture of
poignant commentary on everything related
to Wisconsin’s vibrant capital city--from
local cuisine to peculiar political figures of
the Cheese State.
“With the recession hitting traditional media
the hardest…it’s especially important now
for local bloggers to shine the light on city
and state governments,” blogged Craver. “I
hope The Sconz can be a forum for best
strain of Wisconsin progressivism.”
Craver graduated from UW-Madison
in 2010 with a BA in History. No doubt
influencing the views he expresses in Sconz
Nation, Craver spent worked previously
as an intern for the Democratic Party of
Wisconsin and an editor for a campus
newspaper. As a young professional,
Craver demonstrates not only the new
media possibilities of the blogosphere,
like “Sconzcasts” (a.k.a. podcasts), but is
an example of an opinionated journalist
challenging a hyper local community.