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Shallow Nation

November 15th, 2008 at 10:36 am

Video: President-Elect Barack Obama Saturday Radio Address 11-15-08

President-Elect Barack Obama is setting a new precedent by releasing his weekly Saturday radio address as a YouTube video, a trend which he will continue after he is sworn in as President. Watch the radio address and read the transcript here.

Regarding the new trend,

“This is just one of many ways that he will communicate directly with the American people and make the White House and the political process more transparent,” spokeswoman Jen Psaki told us last night.

In addition to regularly videotaping the radio address, officials at the transition office say the Obama White House will also conduct online Q&As and video interviews. The goal, officials say, is to put a face on government. In the following weeks, for example, senior members of the transition team, various policy experts and choices for the Cabinet, among others, will record videos for Change.gov. [...]

President George W. Bush and President-Elect Barack Obama White House symbolic visit November 10, 2008

President-Elect Barack Obama and President George W. Bush, White House symbolic visit November 10, 2008

“The Obama team has written the playbook on how to use YouTube for political campaigns. Not only have they achieved impressive mass — uploading over 1800 videos that have been viewed over 110 million times total — but they’ve also used video to cultivate a sense of community amongst supporters,” said Steve Grove, head of news and politics at YouTube. “Obama told us in a YouTube interview last year that he plans to have ‘fireside chats’ on video, and we expect his administration will launch a White House YouTube channel very soon after taking office.”

Source: Jose Antonio Vargas Washington Post – The YouTube Presidency via Jack & Jill Politics – Obama Will Post Weekly Address Via YouTube