Posted on 06/01/2007 9:08:33 PM PDT by Squidpup
Podcast Special Episode #7 - Democratizing the Campaign Trail
Click here to listen to the original radio commentary that aired on Paul Harvey News & Comment (3/23/07).
You might have heard that someone altered Apple Computer's 1984 Super Bowl commercial, replacing the face of George Orwell's Big Brother with Hillary Clinton's. A message supporting Barack Obama was also added, and it was posted to the Web.
Guerrilla campaign ads have been around for several years, but this one got noticed. It really got noticed. It might be because it sparked tension between the Democratic Party's two front-runners. Or it might have been because, for two weeks, no one knew who was responsible.
Rumors blamed Obama's staff. Others were sure Republicans were trying to provoke a spat. It turns out that the maker of the ad was just an independent Obama supporter.
He may not affect the Clinton/Obama race, but the message he sent to the political world will probably endure. That message is that anybody, given some inexpensive software and a little time, can compete with the pros..
E-mailed links to the video spread through offices like a bad joke list. Millions watched it on the Web. Millions more saw it on news shows. One cheap, anonymous campaign ad got more attention this season than any expensive, professional commercial.
Over 100 million Americans reportedly watch videos online, at least occasionally. The Websites of citizen journalists, the bloggers, have become truly influential, with an estimated 75 million Americans reading them. Cheap software and computers put tools into the hands of teenagers that used to belong only to networks and studios. YouTube and other video-sharing sites provide a cost-free forum accessible by nearly anyone.
There's no question that this is democratization. Professional journalists and campaign staffers no longer control the political debate. Individuals can now make headlines and directly influence elections -- though some of the accountability that once existed is gone.
Like it or not, things have changed. I am reminded of another novel in the same vein as 1984 -- Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World." Posting anonymously might not be so brave, but what has hit the political world is certainly new.
Yep. Just ask Michael Moore. Right Fred?
And that's a good thing :)
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bump.
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