July 2008

Obama's Video Guru: How We Owned The YouTube Primary

At the polls, the Democratic primary was a squeaker. Online, however, it wasn't close: Barack Obama dominated the discourse and steamrolled Hillary Clinton in every relevant metric, including the number of people watching Obama-related video online. Indeed, one of the more impressive achievements of Obama's organization is the way it churns out video after video--more than 1,165 posted and 14.8 million views on YouTube alone. Much of that is the work of Obama's director of field video production, 32-year-old Arun Chaudhary. Obama's biggest advantage, Chaudhary said, was that his organization took video seriously from the start. The campaign has 50 staffers shooting, editing and posting video, most of it for online. Where Clinton would have just one staffer videotaping an event in Iowa, Obama often had five to provide multiple camera angles. They posted new video constantly, and quickly -- 19 minutes from shoot to post, in one case. And they'd ping community voters via email to alert them to new video. Chaudhary's theory on all this: The technology was available to do all of this, at this scale, four years ago. But it has taken this long for mainstream America to get comfortable with online video. Now that they are, Chaudhary says Obama speaks of continuing to use the medium if elected: He pictures online fireside chats, and posting video of internal debates on topics like healthcare.

TV Stations Identified as facing Unique Technical Challenges

The Federal Communications Commission has determined 20 US television stations face "unique technical challenges" and their digital television construction deadline has been delayed until February 17, 2009.

The Truth About Black America

[Commentary] Radio One (the largest U.S. radio broadcasting company targeting Black Americans) commissioned a recently released study called "Black America Today." Among the findings presented by study team member Miller: The digital divide is over. Done. Stick a fork in it! Sixty-eight percent of African Americans vs. 71% of all Americans are online and two-thirds shop online. The study identified 11 specific segments within Black America today, ranging from Connected Black Teens, Digital Networkers and Black Onliners at the younger end to Faith Fulfills, Broadcast Blacks and Boomer Blacks at the older end.

Obama and McCain coverage: "Nuts" or a "disgrace"?

[Commentary] The key attributes for solid reporting and editing come naturally to most people; fairness, hard work, and -- most important -- common sense. But mainstream media seems to be missing the latter. Two events in recent days reaffirmed that sad conclusion, when entire news organizations opted to throw all sorts of time and attention at what was essentially a pointless campaign-related sideshow, while simultaneously displaying blanket indifference to what should have been the campaign story of the week, if not the month or possibly the entire summer. Last week, after being hyped by Matt Drudge and Fox News, the Beltway press unanimously decided that Rev. Jesse Jackson's whispered comments, picked up on a live television set mic, in which he expressed anger with Sen. Barack Obama and used some crude language to convey his sentiments, represented a hugely important event. It was the most-covered campaign story of the week. By contrast, McCain said at a campaign appearance in Denver on July 7 that the Social Security system as structured in America, in which younger people pay taxes to support the benefits of retirees, is an "absolute disgrace" -- but his proclamation was mostly passed over as being irrelevant. The disconnect between the coverage was astounding.

Obama Rumors Get More Press Coverage

As America gets to know Sen Barack Obama better, the media has increased its coverage of rumors that he's a secret Muslim whose patriotism is questionable. The rumors were first circulated via blogs and e-mail and, according to PEJ's News Coverage Index, the media narrative about these rumors consumed 0.4% of the campaign newshole from March 13 - April 12. Since then, however, coverage of this storyline has steadily increased -- and in June it gained momentum. With the general election underway, stories about rumors that Obama was not patriotic and had ties to Islam jumped from 0.9% of the campaign newshole studied a month earlier to 3.8% from June 13 - July 12 -- nearly ten times as much attention as the narrative received in March. And that was before The New Yorker's controversial front cover ran. The early evidence, at least, suggests, this story line is not going away.

In Obama Fundraising, Signs of a Shift From Online to In-Person

Sen. Barack Obama reversed a three-month fundraising slide by raising $52 million in June. Obama's campaign would not say how much of his total was raised from small donors who gave online, and official reports are not due to be filed until Sunday. But an examination of his campaign schedule -- which has been packed with high-dollar fundraising events -- would suggest that he relied less on Internet donors than he did in February, when he took in $55.4 million. Campaign aides said in interviews that the campaign is no longer seeing the kind of online bonanza that occurred during Obama's long battle with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, when more than $1 million was flowing in each day. The unpredictable nature of Internet giving has added some risk to Obama's decision to forgo federal campaign funding and to commit hundreds of millions of dollars to developing a massive national field operation. By becoming the first to turn away $84.1 million in federal money since it was first made available to presidential candidates, Obama will have to rely heavily on Internet donors to compete with McCain after Labor Day.

In Online Politicking, Republicans Play Catch-Up

About 400 conservative activists, mostly from Texas, are expected for the "RightOnline" gathering this weekend, which will focus on improving conservative Internet efforts. Studies suggest there's no lack of Republicans online who are looking for political news or reading conservative blogs. But they aren't embracing the Internet for low-cost fund raising and organizing as fervently as Democratic activists. Young Republican Internet strategists argue things may not be that great now, but they're working on it. "We see where the left has a huge advantage over us, and we're getting killed online," said Erik Telford, manager of new media for Americans for Prosperity, a conservative advocacy group co-sponsoring the event.

Wilmington Readies for Early DTV Switch

A look at the voluntary efforts of commercial TV broadcasters in Wilmington (NC) to become the first television market in the US to transition to digital-only broadcasting. With their switch date just 53 days away, the broadcasters are meeting weekly along with representatives of the National Association of broadcasters and officials at the Federal Communications Commission. Their conference calls are aimed primarily at making sure that viewers who rely on the over-the-air analog reception are aware of what's going on and are prepared to receive digital signals on Sept. 8. The market's two public TV stations, WUNJ and WUNU, licensed to the University of North Carolina, have opted out of the trial because the state uses all the stations in the UNC system for emergency communications.

The TV hits that no one watches

this year's Emmy nominations may be most notable for underscoring a growing cultural trend: the yawning gap between what critics and industry veterans cherish and what the rest of the public actually watches. It's the relentless narrowing of what was once, in a pre-Internet era, a mass culture, a shift that mirrors what's happening in movies, books and other art forms. Scripted series, from "I Love Lucy" to "Dallas" to "Friends," traditionally netted some of the biggest audiences in television history. But now TV's comedies and dramas are, with a sprinkling of exceptions, becoming expensive diversions for the cultural elite, akin to opera in the 19th century or foreign films in the 1960s. Critics may love shows such as "Mad Men," FX's "Damages" (seven nominations) and HBO's "The Wire," but not many other Americans have caught the fever. Even popular network dramas such as ABC's "Lost" and NBC's "Heroes" have far fewer viewers than comparable series even a few years ago. Instead, the TV masses tend to flock these days to major sporting events -- such as February's Super Bowl telecast on Fox, which drew a record audience of 97.5 million -- and live reality shows such as "American Idol" or "Dancing With the Stars." Cable can offer actors and producers much more freedom -- in part because the channels can live with far fewer viewers. Cable networks generally spend less on programs than do their broadcast counterparts, although the disparity is not as wide as it once was. Also, cable outlets make money from subscriber fees collected by cable and satellite companies, in addition to commercials bought by advertisers. The disconnect could wind up having a huge effect on TV programming, as well as on the Emmys themselves. As more cable outlets follow the lead of HBO, FX and now AMC in making original scripted programming, the traditional broadcasters push for more sports, live specials and reality shows.

SAG Formally Rejects AMPTP Contract Offer

The Screen Actors Guild has not accepted the June 30 contract offer by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, with the actors' chief negotiator stating that the contract "template" established by pacts with writers and directors does not protect actors. In a letter to SAG members, chief negotiator and national executive director Doug Allen said the programming "landscape has dramatically shifted" in the six months since the contract was signed with the Directors Guild of America. The union cites, as justification for shunning the deal, dozens of investments in media streaming and VOD delivery schemes by major media companies since the beginning of the year. SAG is displeased with the current offer because, for instance, the union believes it gives producers a "pass" on residuals for non-union new media projects, as long as the budget is kept below $15,000 per minute. SAG has apparently countered with terms that would base made-for new media residuals on a fixed percentage, meaning that if the content made no money, actors would get no residuals.

Benton

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