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Back to To the Point

To the Point

Will YouTube and Web 2.0 Change American Politics?

CNN hyped last night's Democratic presidential debate at The Citadel in South Carolina as "revolutionary" because real people got to ask questions on video. Some students of politics and the media said the event would do for interactive Web 2.0 what the Kennedy-Nixon debates did for TV.

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By Warren Olney • May 12, 2014 • 1 min read

CNN hyped last night's Democratic presidential debate at The Citadel in South Carolina as "revolutionary" because real people got to ask questions on video. Some students of politics and the media said the event would do for interactive Web 2.0 what the Kennedy-Nixon debates did for TV. Others called it just a tiny step forward, because CNN got to decide which questions the candidates had to respond to. Some 3000 thousand people submitted amateur videos that tackled everything from serious policy questions to sophomoric humor, including a question on global warming that came from an animated snowman. Did the format make for entertaining TV? Were the candidates more authentic? Did it finally come down to politics as usual?

  • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

    Warren Olney

    former KCRW broadcaster

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    Dan Konecky

    Producer, To the Point

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    Katie Cooper

    Producer, 'One year Later'

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    Karen Radziner

    Managing Producer, To the Point & Which Way LA?

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    Lee Bandy

    Political Columnist, The State

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    Peter Leyden

    Director of the New Politics Institute

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    Micah Sifry

    Executive Editor of TechPresident.com

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