Electronic Media & Campaigns
Don’t miss our February program on how electronic media is impacting political campaigns today. I have been fascinated to see how entities such as YouTube, blogs and even news websites have contributed to the discussion both among and about candidates. Is it too much? Do we need more actual NEWS, though, more about the candidates on the issues, or is there room for that as well as for the commentary? Perhaps those questions will be addressed during the program on Feb. 7. RSVP today!
posted on January 22, 2008 |
Hi Melanie,
Re:
I think an argument a lot of bloggers (including this one) would make is that very little of what comes from professional press surrounding political campaigns is actually news. A few examples:
Is it relevant to his potential job performance that Barack Obama is a smoker?
Is it relevant to her potential job performance that Hillary Clinton cried at a campaign stop?
Is a Chuck Norris endorsement really going to deliver votes to Mike Huckabee?
These are all topics that professional press have covered in the presidential campaign at exhaustive length that I don’t think are particularly newsworthy. That’s not at all meant to deny that information comes from the professional press that is unique and newsworthy; just that there’s not all that much relative to the deluge of fluff and opinion that fills the 24-hour news cycle.
Most information of substance about a candidate I can learn watching the candidate’s videos and reading their web sites. Professional press fills in some gaps. Blogs fill in a few more. Taken together, they provide context.
There’s also a whole lot of noise coming from all of those sources that makes it hard to find the good stuff sometimes. I think the quicker we — candidates, professional press, and bloggers — realize we’re all complicit in the noise machine, the quicker we can get to a more productive discussion of how we can do better in our respective roles.
Comment by Rusty — February 1, 2008 @ 4:30 pm
I think you’re right, Rusty, that we need a combination of news, commentary and other information to make informed decisions. The sad fact is, though, that too many news CONSUMERS (i.e. the “general public”) are not informed about the “gaps” that need filling and end up getting their “news” from just one or two sources, many of those sources one-sided or ill-informed…or who might BE informed but just not giving “enough” information. I think this program will be a great start at a dialogue!
Comment by Melanie Levs — February 2, 2008 @ 3:12 pm