Dope Blogs: Prune Juice Media
You ever witness that awkward moment when folks are sitting around chatting about, let's say, pop culture and the conversation turns to politics and that one person who was once dominating the conversation, begins to clam up?
That one person is me.
I'm a great conversationalist, but when politics comes up, I start to itch and quickly change the subject. I find politics terribly boring, which, in turn, makes me a really lousy political gabber.
But I want to change that. I can't bill myself as a renaissance man and not be able to hold a conversation about what's going down in the political arena.
The sweet Lord up above must have heard my cry, because no sooner had I proclaimed my desire to be a wee bit more politically savvy, did I stumble upon Prune Juice Media, a witty, intelligent, honest look at political news stories.
PJM targets educated (that's me!) voters (hey, that's me too!) who are tired of "business as usual" in political reporting (I'm not really tired--I'm just bored to tears). They want fresh and honest perspectives in a quick format (yes! yes! short. sweet. easy to digest).
I chewed the fat with Matt E. Stevens, the mastermind behind PJM. He talks about the difficulty of running a political blog, the inspiration behind PJM's name - and how race doesn't play a role in his content.
URBANE URBANITE: You're a Cleveland native. How did you end up in Atlanta?
MATT E. STEVENS: When I graduated from The Ohio State University, I enrolled at the University of Georgia for my Master of Mass Communication program. Spent a year and a half in Athens, graduated and moved over to Atlanta.
UU: How did you get into politics?
MES: I got started doing political blogging because I have always had an interest in social studies, history and politics ever since elementary school. I worked full-time in public relations after graduate school and it took a few years to realize that it wasn't a fit for me. I started doing some entertainment blogging in 2006-2007 with three friends and that got my initial interest in writing online. After the presidential election of 2008, I wanted to contribute to the national conversation, but was afraid of how to do it. I went back to my experiences in blogging, wrote a plan of how I wanted my site to look, and by January 2010, I started Prune Juice Media.
UU: Love the title of the blog. What inspired it?
MES: Well, I wanted something catchy and memorable for the blog's title. I thought about some different phrases and my mind kept going back to all the B.S. in politics So, I thought: "This site is going to flush through all of that crap and get to the honest truth." Prune juice (the beverage) does a great job of that for our bodies, so I thought it would work for the blog.
UU: Clever.
MES: [Laughs] Thanks.
UU: There are a plethora of hot topics in politics on any given day. How do you decide what to cover on PMJ?
MES: Well, the main indicator I use is whether or not the story jumps out at me. I could spend all day boring people with rehashing what they can find in the mainstream media. I use my gut to tell me if there's a different angle, underlying opinion, or truly WTF moment that I need to share with my readers. Also, I love to laugh so the story can be funny too. That always helps in politics because a lot of it is boring.
UU: You mention your readers. What's the response been like from them?
MES: The response has been truly overwhelming from people that have found my work. It strikes a chord with a lot of people who are expecting the run-of-the-mill political website. It's not that. We tell it like it truly is (foul language and all) and people like the honesty.
UU: What's the demographic of your readers?
MES: My readers skew female (probably 60/40) and I'd estimate them to fall mostly in the 25-40 demographic. That doesn't mean that the men aren't well-represented because they definitely have a voice on my site as well.
UU: What would you say are the advantages and disadvantages of running a political blog? It can get tricky I hear.
MES: Oh, it's very difficult to run a successful political blog. The advantages are that I finally have a platform that I own outright to affect the national conversation about topics that my readers and I feel are important. I think that so often African-Americans miss the boat on media ownership, which is far more important to me than the recognition that comes with having a blog/website. The disadvantages are that bloggers are not always given the credit and respect they deserve. Oftentimes, they are the first to break stories or talk about things that are unconventional in the mainstream media. Plus, blogging, technically, is hard! It takes patience, a boatload of hard work, and commitment. If you don't live by those core values, your site won't be successful. I have to produce content that my readers want to see even when no one is patting me on the back. Some people are not made for that because they only want the limelight. I don't. I want the ownership, the voice, and to educate people.
UU: True. But that disadvantage is felt through out the entire blogosphere, no matter what the niche. But are there disadvantages with running a political blog specifically?
MES: Ah. I see your question. Yes, the disadvantages to running a political blog are that people immediately seek to put you in a box based on party affiliation. It becomes an us vs. them thing (i.e., red v blue, Dem v GOP, etc.). It can be difficult because the media takes to conservative bloggers a bit more so for me (a liberal site), it's hard to get your voice out there.
UU: Have you openly shared your party affiliation on your blog?
MES: Yes and no. I think faithful readers will see that my blog has a liberal slant to it. But, that doesn't mean that those are the only candidates I support. I'm an issues oriented person, so I feel stronger about certain things than others. I approach PJM from the stance of trying to talk about issues with a knee-jerk reaction instead of "Oh, well I voted for X candidate so my blog should say Y."
UU: As a black political blogger, does having a Black president in office make it easier, harder, more fun to run your blog? Ultimately, I guess what I'm really asking is: does race play a large factor in your blogging?
MES: Having a black president hasn't affected my blog the way that some would think. I don't run PJM as a "black site," so I treat the president with the same approach as I do many other politicians. My target audience are those seeking real, honest, to-the-point convo about a range of issues. So, the short answer, is that race thankfully does not play a huge factor in my blogging. The last thing I want to do is talk about President Obama all day (good or bad), even though I do support him. There is so much more going on in politics than just him.
UU: PJM recently turned one-year-old. Congrats! Any real blogger knows that is a huge accomplishment.
MES: Thank you so much. Yes, it was a real milestone for me on a few levels.
UU: What's next for PJM?
UU: Hotness!
MES: My goal is to show, much like Jon Stewart with The Daily Show, that you don't have to be boring and run-of-the-mill to affect national dialogue and make people want your content.
UU: You're well on your way, homie. You are one of the hardiest working bloggers I know. What do you do when you aren't working on your blog?
MES: When I'm not working on the blog, I'm usually working out, hanging out with my friends or just relaxing in general. For instance, yesterday I purposely did nothing on the blog because I wanted to unplug and regroup.
UU: Ha! But I'd bet my last bottle of prune juice that you sat there and brainstormed about the blog the majority of the time.
MES: I am always thinking about the blog. I can't turn that off. It's not just a blog, but a media platform. And it's also a business. There are lots of other things to do besides just post to the site.
UU: Oh. Well, excuse me, Mr. Media Platform. You better put me in my place! [Laughs]
MES: [Laughs] Never that.
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| Matt E. Stevens Creator & Chief Blogger of Prune Juice Media |
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