Sound Bite That Has Some Teeth

SOUND BITE THAT HAS SOME TEETH
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: David Carr carr@nytimes.com]
A look at the YouTube clip of Derrick Ashong talking about Sen Barack Obama. At a time when politics and popular culture are still in an awkward mating ritual, Mr. Ashong inadvertently tapped into the youthquake that is shaking up the campaign. While the clip could have been lost among some of the popular rubble at YouTube, but mainstream media took notice. Part of what is under way has to do with a subversion of expectations. Watch broadcast news and you will see any number of man-on-the-street interviews. In this trope, a person with good hair solicits an enthusiastic sound bite from a supporter, pats her on the head and then moves on. But in this instance, neither party played by the rules. The journalist is never seen and is extremely aggressive in asking questions, while the subject, Mr. Ashong, does not so much take the bait as reel in the guy setting it out there. “What you have here is two amateurs who are not acting like what they represent,” said Lee Rainie of the Pew Internet and American Life Project. “The ‘reporter’ is very probing, and then the ‘subject’ gives as good as he gets. It is a classic viral moment.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/17/business/media/17carr.html?ref=todaysp...
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* Original YouTube clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kica8hmSdAM&feature=related
* Why I Support Obama - The Emotional Response
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2zO5d-XZWA&feature=related