In a recent article in U.S News and World Report, Kenneth Walsh discusses President-Elect Obama's strategies of using the media in the new internet age and his dealings with the media.
"Obama believes he can make his case more effectively without the media middleman. It's not that Obama dislikes dealing with reporters or editors. To the contrary, according to Chicago confidant Jerry Kellman. He says Obama "believes in the media as a concept," as the institution protected by the First Amendment in order to serve as a watchdog on those in power. But Obama also believes that the media sometimes get lost in trivia and sensationalism and ignore serious discussion, so he wants to appeal directly to everyday people as much as he can."While this is a great article, I question whether Obama's elimination of the middle man is truly a good thing. On the one hand, we have seen (and especially recently in class) the problems with the way that news is portrayed to the American public. On the other hand, this "check" may be beneficial. I am honestly torn and am very interested to see just how this new plan plays out...
5 comments:
It seems to me that Obama is paying lip service to the his distaste of the media. Does he really think he can "talk to the people" without using the media?
I guess you didn't read the rest of the article:
"Obama aides say his White House will conduct online question-and-answer sessions and post video interviews, both on the White House website and for use on YouTube. Obama will sometimes participate, as will his senior aides and perhaps his wife, Michelle. Obama says he will have a five-day online comment period before he signs nonemergency legislation. One can easily envision Obama using his network to pressure members of Congress to pass his agenda, to support or oppose candidates in the 2010 midterm elections, and to generate campaign contributions."
So it seems he does have a plan and wlll be able to "talk to the people" without using the media as his "middleman".
Sounds great to me. Are you offering a critque of this or just presenting his plan?
Once again, do you think Obama seriously expects YouTube to replace NBC?
Steven-I am not offering a critique just posting what I thought was an interesting article. I am however very interested in seeing how this plays out.
Daniel- I don't think I, or the article, ever said that alternatives such as youtube would REPLACE the media, I do believe that Obama will use them as an alternative and to serve a different purpose.
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