YouTube reshapes political landscape.

Byline: George M. Thomas

Nov. 3--Northeast Ohio's Jeff Coryell is an artist and former trial attorney. In recent months he assumed another guise -- that of political journalist. Ever since discovering that his digital camera also took short video clips, he's been a regular contributor to the online phenomenon YouTube. Go to www.youtube.com and search for his handle Yellowdogsammy, and clips featuring the likes of U.S. Senate candidate Sherrod Brown, U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones and Ohio attorney general candidate Marc Dann appear on the screen. While his videos aren't going to make the site's list of most popular, it shows that a service created in the winter of 2005 has already become a potent voice on the political landscape. Search for Sherrod Brown and more than 200 video clips surface. For Mike DeWine, it's close to 150 and in the world of the Internet, they registered some notable hits or visits.

Some still express doubts as to whether YouTube has a role in this hotly contested election cycle. "Among political junkies, yes, it does, but I don't think it yet has a role in the public," said Dr. Stephen C. Brooks, acting director of the University of Akron's Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics. Brooks, who uses YouTube in his lectures, said that right now it's just another form of communication that hasn't matured. "I'm a real believer in using new technology, moving us away from what I call linear thinking -- It has its downsides and upsides, I think. Whether it's beneficial or not, it's coming."

It's already here, according to others. Robert Arena, a political consultant and vice president of interactive for Carton Donofrio Partners Inc. in Baltimore, said YouTube, which Google recently purchased for more than $1.6 billion, benefited from a perfect storm, technically and politically. Technically in that broadband (high speed) Internet access is readily available across the country, making streaming video and audio routine, he said. "This is what I'm calling the combination therapy election," Arena said. "Just like we've found in medicine that a combination of drugs has vastly different impact on a body than another, that's what this election is." Interest and activism Blogs first wielded their influence in the 2004 presidential election, but with the addition of YouTube, political interest and activism is only heightened, he said. Indeed, according to a recent AP-AOL news poll, about 43 percent of likely voters surf the Internet for political information.

A third of that number visit candidate sites and almost half get their information from political sites. However, there's a fundamental difference that YouTube has over traditional political Web sites, said Phil Singer, communications director for the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee. "The advent of YouTube has revolutionized American politics this year in that it's able to get footage of the candidates from the campaign out in a very efficient manner," he said. "It allows for the mass distribution, e-coverage, news clips, snippets of debates and other materials that people might be interested in." Raw footage from the campaign trail can prove to be a blessing and a bane, Arena said. While YouTube is home to a vast library of homemade clips, it was a campaign clip from the U.S. Senate race in Virginia that showed just how powerful it could be. During one stop, incumbent Republican Sen. George Allen was caught on tape referring to a member of his opponent Jim Webb's campaign team as "macaca" an alleged racial slur. That moment, caught on tape, uploaded to YouTube and linked to sites throughout the blogosphere helped to change the direction of that race, Arena said. "George Allen should have been coasting in this election with a big pile of cash well on his way to a competitive attempt at the presidential nomination of the Republican Party in 2008," he said. "Today he may not be re-elected and the only reason that's true is YouTube." Commercial forum But it's not just those inadvertent gaffes that show up on the site that shift political winds. Singer contends that political commercials can play a role, too. Several weeks ago, casual Web surfers could have found political ads from the right and left. But until a controversial ad featuring Michael J. Fox campaigning for Democratic nominee Claire McCaskill, a Senate candidate from Missouri, aired, they didn't make a huge splash. Fox, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, advocates for candidates who support embryonic stem cell research. Variations of the spot were created for another U.S. Senate candidate in Maryland. Add a little commentary from conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh and boom, close to 2 million views. It may represent a benchmark moment. While it certainly received its share of TV airplay, it continues to be seen on YouTube.

"Where once we were at the mercy of seeing them (commercials) when they appeared on your TV screen, they can be transmitted much more quickly over the Internet," Singer said. "When your ad gets cut, you're not just going to see it on TV. If you want to see what other people are saying, you just click your mouse." House Speaker Tip O'Neill once said that "all politics is local." With the likes of YouTube, that has never been truer, Arena said. The Allen fallout revitalized the left and made Virginia's Senate race local in other states, bringing new life and money to the Webb campaign. But for folks such as Coryell, who also writes in his own political blog (http://ohio2006elections.blogspot.com), it's more basic; it gives him a voice. "It enlivens my readers' experience and to the extent that it's me adding audio and video, it adds a dimension to my reporting." George M. Thomas is a staff writer for the Akron Beacon Journal. He can be reached at 330-996-3579 or at gmthomas@thebeaconjournal.com.

Copyright (c) 2006, The Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business

News.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

TICKER SYMBOL(S): NASDAQ-NMS:GOOG

YouTube reshapes political landscape.

Byline: George M. Thomas

Nov. 3--Northeast Ohio's Jeff Coryell is an artist and former trial attorney. In recent months he assumed another guise -- that of political journalist. Ever since discovering that his digital camera also took short video clips, he's been a regular contributor to the online phenomenon YouTube. Go to www.youtube.com and search for his handle Yellowdogsammy, and clips featuring the likes of U.S. Senate candidate Sherrod Brown, U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones and Ohio attorney general candidate Marc Dann appear on the screen. While his videos aren't going to make the site's list of most popular, it shows that a service created in the winter of 2005 has already become a potent voice on the political landscape. Search for Sherrod Brown and more than 200 video clips surface. For Mike DeWine, it's close to 150 and in the world of the Internet, they registered some notable hits or visits.

Some still express doubts as to whether YouTube has a role in this hotly contested election cycle. "Among political junkies, yes, it does, but I don't think it yet has a role in the public," said Dr. Stephen C. Brooks, acting director of the University of Akron's Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics. Brooks, who uses YouTube in his lectures, said that right now it's just another form of communication that hasn't matured. "I'm a real believer in using new technology, moving us away from what I call linear thinking -- It has its downsides and upsides, I think. Whether it's beneficial or not, it's coming."

It's already here, according to others. Robert Arena, a political consultant and vice president of interactive for Carton Donofrio Partners Inc. in Baltimore, said YouTube, which Google recently purchased for more than $1.6 billion, benefited from a perfect storm, technically and politically. Technically in that broadband (high speed) Internet access is readily available across the country, making streaming video and audio routine, he said. "This is what I'm calling the combination therapy election," Arena said. "Just like we've found in medicine that a combination of drugs has vastly different impact on a body than another, that's what this election is." Interest and activism Blogs first wielded their influence in the 2004 presidential election, but with the addition of YouTube, political interest and activism is only heightened, he said. Indeed, according to a recent AP-AOL news poll, about 43 percent of likely voters surf the Internet for political information.

A third of that number visit candidate sites and almost half get their information from political sites. However, there's a fundamental difference that YouTube has over traditional political Web sites, said Phil Singer, communications director for the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee. "The advent of YouTube has revolutionized American politics this year in that it's able to get footage of the candidates from the campaign out in a very efficient manner," he said. "It allows for the mass distribution, e-coverage, news clips, snippets of debates and other materials that people might be interested in." Raw footage from the campaign trail can prove to be a blessing and a bane, Arena said. While YouTube is home to a vast library of homemade clips, it was a campaign clip from the U.S. Senate race in Virginia that showed just how powerful it could be. During one stop, incumbent Republican Sen. George Allen was caught on tape referring to a member of his opponent Jim Webb's campaign team as "macaca" an alleged racial slur. That moment, caught on tape, uploaded to YouTube and linked to sites throughout the blogosphere helped to change the direction of that race, Arena said. "George Allen should have been coasting in this election with a big pile of cash well on his way to a competitive attempt at the presidential nomination of the Republican Party in 2008," he said. "Today he may not be re-elected and the only reason that's true is YouTube." Commercial forum But it's not just those inadvertent gaffes that show up on the site that shift political winds. Singer contends that political commercials can play a role, too. Several weeks ago, casual Web surfers could have found political ads from the right and left. But until a controversial ad featuring Michael J. Fox campaigning for Democratic nominee Claire McCaskill, a Senate candidate from Missouri, aired, they didn't make a huge splash. Fox, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, advocates for candidates who support embryonic stem cell research. Variations of the spot were created for another U.S. Senate candidate in Maryland. Add a little commentary from conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh and boom, close to 2 million views. It may represent a benchmark moment. While it certainly received its share of TV airplay, it continues to be seen on YouTube.

"Where once we were at the mercy of seeing them (commercials) when they appeared on your TV screen, they can be transmitted much more quickly over the Internet," Singer said. "When your ad gets cut, you're not just going to see it on TV. If you want to see what other people are saying, you just click your mouse." House Speaker Tip O'Neill once said that "all politics is local." With the likes of YouTube, that has never been truer, Arena said. The Allen fallout revitalized the left and made Virginia's Senate race local in other states, bringing new life and money to the Webb campaign. But for folks such as Coryell, who also writes in his own political blog (http://ohio2006elections.blogspot.com), it's more basic; it gives him a voice. "It enlivens my readers' experience and to the extent that it's me adding audio and video, it adds a dimension to my reporting." George M. Thomas is a staff writer for the Akron Beacon Journal. He can be reached at 330-996-3579 or at gmthomas@thebeaconjournal.com.

Copyright (c) 2006, The Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business

News.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

TICKER SYMBOL(S): NASDAQ-NMS:GOOG

YouTube reshapes political landscape.

Byline: George M. Thomas

Nov. 3--Northeast Ohio's Jeff Coryell is an artist and former trial attorney. In recent months he assumed another guise -- that of political journalist. Ever since discovering that his digital camera also took short video clips, he's been a regular contributor to the online phenomenon YouTube. Go to www.youtube.com and search for his handle Yellowdogsammy, and clips featuring the likes of U.S. Senate candidate Sherrod Brown, U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones and Ohio attorney general candidate Marc Dann appear on the screen. While his videos aren't going to make the site's list of most popular, it shows that a service created in the winter of 2005 has already become a potent voice on the political landscape. Search for Sherrod Brown and more than 200 video clips surface. For Mike DeWine, it's close to 150 and in the world of the Internet, they registered some notable hits or visits.

Some still express doubts as to whether YouTube has a role in this hotly contested election cycle. "Among political junkies, yes, it does, but I don't think it yet has a role in the public," said Dr. Stephen C. Brooks, acting director of the University of Akron's Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics. Brooks, who uses YouTube in his lectures, said that right now it's just another form of communication that hasn't matured. "I'm a real believer in using new technology, moving us away from what I call linear thinking -- It has its downsides and upsides, I think. Whether it's beneficial or not, it's coming."

It's already here, according to others. Robert Arena, a political consultant and vice president of interactive for Carton Donofrio Partners Inc. in Baltimore, said YouTube, which Google recently purchased for more than $1.6 billion, benefited from a perfect storm, technically and politically. Technically in that broadband (high speed) Internet access is readily available across the country, making streaming video and audio routine, he said. "This is what I'm calling the combination therapy election," Arena said. "Just like we've found in medicine that a combination of drugs has vastly different impact on a body than another, that's what this election is." Interest and activism Blogs first wielded their influence in the 2004 presidential election, but with the addition of YouTube, political interest and activism is only heightened, he said. Indeed, according to a recent AP-AOL news poll, about 43 percent of likely voters surf the Internet for political information.

A third of that number visit candidate sites and almost half get their information from political sites. However, there's a fundamental difference that YouTube has over traditional political Web sites, said Phil Singer, communications director for the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee. "The advent of YouTube has revolutionized American politics this year in that it's able to get footage of the candidates from the campaign out in a very efficient manner," he said. "It allows for the mass distribution, e-coverage, news clips, snippets of debates and other materials that people might be interested in." Raw footage from the campaign trail can prove to be a blessing and a bane, Arena said. While YouTube is home to a vast library of homemade clips, it was a campaign clip from the U.S. Senate race in Virginia that showed just how powerful it could be. During one stop, incumbent Republican Sen. George Allen was caught on tape referring to a member of his opponent Jim Webb's campaign team as "macaca" an alleged racial slur. That moment, caught on tape, uploaded to YouTube and linked to sites throughout the blogosphere helped to change the direction of that race, Arena said. "George Allen should have been coasting in this election with a big pile of cash well on his way to a competitive attempt at the presidential nomination of the Republican Party in 2008," he said. "Today he may not be re-elected and the only reason that's true is YouTube." Commercial forum But it's not just those inadvertent gaffes that show up on the site that shift political winds. Singer contends that political commercials can play a role, too. Several weeks ago, casual Web surfers could have found political ads from the right and left. But until a controversial ad featuring Michael J. Fox campaigning for Democratic nominee Claire McCaskill, a Senate candidate from Missouri, aired, they didn't make a huge splash. Fox, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, advocates for candidates who support embryonic stem cell research. Variations of the spot were created for another U.S. Senate candidate in Maryland. Add a little commentary from conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh and boom, close to 2 million views. It may represent a benchmark moment. While it certainly received its share of TV airplay, it continues to be seen on YouTube.

"Where once we were at the mercy of seeing them (commercials) when they appeared on your TV screen, they can be transmitted much more quickly over the Internet," Singer said. "When your ad gets cut, you're not just going to see it on TV. If you want to see what other people are saying, you just click your mouse." House Speaker Tip O'Neill once said that "all politics is local." With the likes of YouTube, that has never been truer, Arena said. The Allen fallout revitalized the left and made Virginia's Senate race local in other states, bringing new life and money to the Webb campaign. But for folks such as Coryell, who also writes in his own political blog (http://ohio2006elections.blogspot.com), it's more basic; it gives him a voice. "It enlivens my readers' experience and to the extent that it's me adding audio and video, it adds a dimension to my reporting." George M. Thomas is a staff writer for the Akron Beacon Journal. He can be reached at 330-996-3579 or at gmthomas@thebeaconjournal.com.

Copyright (c) 2006, The Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business

News.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

TICKER SYMBOL(S): NASDAQ-NMS:GOOG