Gauging The Internet's Political Power
The Future Of Campaigning May Be Online, But Is The Future Here Yet?
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Play CBS Video Video The Internet Age Campaign Though presidential campaigns are increasingly internet savvy, traditional media still drives the conversation. Nancy Cordes reports.
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(AP/hillaryclinton.com)
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In-Depth 2008 Presidential Hopefuls Profiles and the latest news on the Democrats and Republicans running for the White House.
"Young people have got to reach other young people," Rove told CBS News at the time, "and that is what we are seeking to do."
The merger of politics and technology was so new the Nixon campaign felt its use of computers should be shielded from the public.
How things have changed.
In 2007, candidates announce that they are running for president, raise money and even hold debates on the Internet. Earlier this month, the Democrats held the first candidate "mashup" - their responses to questions were posted online for internet users to edit any way they choose.
Still, a recent poll showed that 72 percent of those surveyed get their political information from newspapers. Analysts say that means campaigns have to keep both old and new media in mind when trying to connect with voters.
"The other media, the traditional mass media, drives the message where the candidates want it to go," said Michael Cornfield of the George Washington University, "and that's why they still remain invaluable as we get close to an election."
So when the history of the 2008 campaign is written, how big a role will the internet have played after all?
For Joe Trippi, an architect of Howard Dean's groundbreaking use of technology in the 2004 campaign, and now with candidate John Edwards, it will have been the key.
Trippi imagines looking at the next president a few years from now and saying "Wow, who'd have ever thought when that moment happened on YouTube or the Internet? That's when this candidate started getting momentum that drove them to the presidency."
Others remember that Dean, for all his online appeal, didn't end up being the nominee, and the current Republican front-runner hasn't exactly embraced the new technology.
"The only candidate who is under-performing in terms of using the Internet is Rudy Giuliani," Cornfield said. "And because Rudy Giuliani is leading in the polls I think that tells us that the Internet, while it is a favorite of the activists, and while it is increasingly important, is still not thoroughly essential to becoming a victor in the polls."
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Posted by brundage3 at 03:35 AM : Sep 24, 2007
To me, you get more information than you would get from listening to Bush''s speeches, or listening to the WH spokesman who isn''t going to comment on an ongoing investigation.
Actually, nowadays, the best place for political insight is probably the "Daily show" with Jon Stewart.
And you can get it from the net ...
Our railing at "the media" is a majo danger. "The media" is ANY news medium which we use to get information. And when youpass it along, YOU are medium for passsage of information.
So imagine, do you speak and/or write in a manner which is least likely to be misunderstood? Being sure the words you use will be an accurate description of the even TO THE LISTENER OR READER? Or do you use words which give vent to YOU feeling about the person or issue upon which you report?
Judgeing by post read hear, there is alot more "venting"than there is "passage of information."
I am proud to have been a reporter for over 40 years. I have seen and met the worst of my profession. And the best. And I have seen and heard the best of the general population who are the "consumers"ibn the information marketplace. As a percentage of their respective whole numbers, journalists who are among the best often win out.
Without "the media" what would you know of the world outside your neighborhood or town?
Scott
Posted by coffee_guy1 at 01:09 PM : Sep 23, 2007
I had to look twice great post coffe guy
See I told you I loved your posts another great one and so true.
"Brigadier General Karl Horst, deputy commander of the 3rd Infantry Division said of private security contractors, %u201CThese guys run loose in this country and do stupid stuff. There%u2019s no authority over them, so you can%u2019t come down on them hard when they escalate force%u2026. They shoot people, and someone else has to deal with the aftermath. It happens all over the place.%u201D Horst tracked contractor conduct for a two month period in Baghdad and documented at least a dozen shootings of Iraqi civilians by contractors, resulting in six Iraqi deaths and the wounding of three others. That is just one General in one area of Iraq in just 60 days."
STOP the Blackwater Civilian-Killing Terrorists! Their most recent murder-spree, which has finally forced our corporate media to at least mention it, is not by any means an isolated event
"Brigadier General Karl Horst, deputy commander of the 3rd Infantry Division said of private security contractors, %u201CThese guys run loose in this country and do stupid stuff. There%u2019s no authority over them, so you can%u2019t come down on them hard when they escalate force%u2026. They shoot people, and someone else has to deal with the aftermath. It happens all over the place.%u201D Horst tracked contractor conduct for a two month period in Baghdad and documented at least a dozen shootings of Iraqi civilians by contractors, resulting in six Iraqi deaths and the wounding of three others. That is just one General in one area of Iraq in just 60 days."
Administration propaganda, and ''infotainment''. For example, will CBS report the following, which appeared in The Nation online magazine.
STOP the Blackwater Civilian-Killing Terrorists! Their most recent murder-spree, which has finally forced our corporate media to at least mention it, is not by any means an isolated event.
Yes, there are more politically active young people but ironically some will be too young to vote yet, others will have either forgotten or been tripped up and disqualified due to some arcane "registration glitch" and still more won''t be able to either find the right polling place or won''t be allowed time off work at their underpaying job to be able to vote.
ALL those things occurred around here with the last few elections we volunteered to work.
There is little to NO REAL CIVICS EDUCATION in the Public Schools anymore so BASIC things like answers to the above situations trip up even the most ardent politically motivated person - young or not so; sound bytes have replaced logic.
Dirty tricks abound.
From the notorious Diebold "hack-ability" issue to "forgetting" to send the paper ballots to districts that don''t fit the desired "demographic profile" or disqualifying serving military by mis-routing their "registration inquiries" - all have been used in past elections.
If the system is discriminatory to begin with the discrimination and "dirty tricks" need to be stopped WELL BEFORE the actual voting starts.
- by me4prezz September 23, 2007 2:29 AM EDT
- I think that they are underestimating the Internet.
- Reply to this comment
See all 15 CommentsI believe, presonally, that the Internet is where the majority of young voters will receive their information, while the more traditional means of finding information (e.g. newspapers, magazines, etc) is going to be strong for the older population.
With so many of the younger generation involved in pushing people to vote and voting themselves, many for their first presidental election, I belive that they are vastly underestimating the power of the Internet and/or the vast majority of the younger population that will turn the tides of the campaigns.