Could a 15-Year-Old With a Laptop Be the New Campaign Media Guru?

COULD A 15-YEAR-OLD WITH A LAPTOP BE THE NEW CAMPAIGN MEDIA GURU?
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Adam Cohen]
[Commentary] Daily Kos's convention -- the in-person gathering of the nation's most-read online political blog -- was practically carpeted with presidential candidates. But perhaps the most notable presentation came from Ava Lowery, a 15-year-old from rural Alabama, whose homemade video was shown at the convention on jumbo television screens. Ms. Lowery's video, set to the Queen song "We Will Rock You," contrasted the "liars" and "leakers" in the Bush administration with "those of us who choose to stand up for truth and justice." Her handiwork, which can be seen at Youtube.com (Ava Lowery's video), is a bit over the top. But it shows that a 15-year-old with video software and Internet access can now create and disseminate a professional-quality political ad. Last week's gathering was widely described as a bloggers' convention, but it was a lot more. It was the mainstream debut of "Internet-powered politics," and it made a convincing case that the Internet will quickly surpass television as the primary medium for communicating political ideas. This could be good news for progressives, as the Daily Kos community hopes, and for the Democratic Party, which sorely needs some. But like all technological revolutions, Internet-powered politics could have some unintended consequences.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/14/opinion/14wed4.htm
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* Progressive Nation 1.0
http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/37537/