A Vehicle for Political Dialogue

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By LaChrystal Ricke

The way the public discusses politics has changed.

The 2007 CNN-YouTube Presidential Candidate Debates offered the public unprecedented access into a traditionally closed political institution. An analysis of the debates reveals a distinct theme in campaigns' implementation of YouTube: the site allows for a redefinition of what it means to engage in political dialogue, which could prove instrumental in increasing both voter efficacy and participation.

By allowing viewers to tag and share videos through multiple channels (e.g., MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Digg, orkut, Live Spaces, Bebo and hi5) and post text or video responses, YouTube has fundamentally altered the ways in which constituents receive, respond to and share political information. Here are some lessons about how best to navigate this new territory.

The audience is diverse. The CNN-YouTube debates were successful in reaching traditionally politically disengaged populations. Nearly 41 percent of debate participants were under 30 years old, and minority participation was higher across all racial categories than one would anticipate from previous election statistics.

Viewer posts are important. Campaigns can know exactly what their audience is thinking. While the posts are not always nice, attention to them allows campaigns have the distinct advantage of knowing how well campaign messages are being received, what questions and concerns the public has and what strategies are the most successful. These posts also foster civic dialogue, a key element in American democracy.

Pay attention to the statistics. YouTube collects various statistics for every video, which, in conjunction with viewer posts, can indicate the success or failure of messages and assist in the strategic planning of future messages.

Use links strategically. YouTube allows for all videos to link to other sites. Linking candidate videos to strategically selected sites creates a more informed constituency.

Post video responses. Posting video responses to constituent questions and concerns can make candidates seem more accessible to the public. These responses offer a direct line between candidates and constituents and provide a sense of dialogue not possible through other forms of political media.

Gimmicks don’t work. Debate participants responded better to straightforward, people-talking-to-people messages than animated or gimmicky messages.

While campaign websites, blogs and other forum-based sites have attempted to increase online political interactivity, none have the interactive capabilities of YouTube. Because of this, it is important for campaigns to strategically, not accidently, implement YouTube into their overall strategies.


LaChrystal Ricke is an assistant professor of communication at Eastern New Mexico University. Her paper can be viewed here.