Hmmmm, here’s an interesting development in the constant blurring of the lines between media — Hillary Clinton has launched a new site called HillaryHub.com, which is essentially a news aggregator. The site collects news stories, blog posts and videos about Hillary and puts them up on a straightforward three-column page without explicit commentary, though they’re clearly selected and headlined to put Hillary in the best light.
Ben Smith at the Politico has a good write-up and some interesting quotes: “I grew up in New York reading tabloids; my dream job is to edit the New York Post,” [site manager Howard] Wolfson said. “So we set up something that has a little of that flavor and feel to it.” Smith draws parallels between HillaryHub and other aggregators-with-an-agenda, such as the Drudge Report and Major League Baseball’s MLB.com.
I gotta say, this is a new one on me — campaign sites usually have a news-about-the-candidate section, but this takes it a step beyond, particularly in its somewhat tongue-in-cheek attitude. My question — who’s the intended audience? Journalists, bloggers and political activists more than the general public, I’d assume. This seems to be meant for the opinion-leader crowd rather than for potential voters. Niche sites for different audience segments? What’s next?
New details emerged today about the CNN/YouTube-sponsored Democratic presidential debate, to be held on July 23rd in South Carolina. Some salient points:
No live panel of questioners, only Anderson Cooper as moderator.
Questions will come from videos submitted to a YouTube channel.
Questions may be directed at a particular candidate or asked generally of everyone on stage.
The debate organizers are encouraging the use of sound and graphics to create a rich media experience for each question. They’re hoping for presentations that are “creative and inventive,” and for the videos to provide real context for the questions.
Submitted questions will be visible on YouTube, though the debate organizers aren’t going to tip candidates and the public off about which ones will be chosen. As with normal YouTube videos, viewers will be able to leave comments, rate videos, etc.
Anderson Cooper will be able to ask questions directly if new issues burst into prominence between the end of the submission period and the beginning of the debate. I.e., the debate won’t be strictly limited only to the YouTube questions.
Update: the debate organizers expect to use 20-30 questions in total.
This one’s all over the place today, and for good reason — it’s sheer genius. Barak Obama has a new fan, and she’s willing to use every weapon available to get his attention. Check out these soon-to-be-classic lyrics:
You’re into border security
Let’s break this border between you and me
Universal health care reform
It maaaaaaaaaaakes me warm…
Oh, my. See for yourself:
Kate Phillips has more details at The Caucus. I gotta tell ya, politics in the age of citizen media is going to be fun as hell — what’s next? Thanks to Burt Edwards for the tip-off.
Update: Two good techPresident pieces about the video:
