Matt Eventoff in E-Commerce Times
YouTube Presidential Debates – a Sea Change for US Politics?
By Erika Morphy
TechNewsWorld
06/15/07
The Questioner Takes Center Stage
…Whether or not the YouTube debate will serve up similar pablum remains to be seen. There is hope that it will not, though, mainly because YouTube has come to signify the Wild West character of Web 2.0 and its disruptive impact on politics.
Then there is the wild card aspect of having ordinary people ask questions. For example, a question about the country’s healthcare situation could be framed by the questioner’s real-life situation involving a seriously ill child who cannot get coverage. Immediately, the debate shifts away from dry policy, and viewers home in on how the candidate connects and communicates with that person.
From a political communications standpoint, debates are often analyzed by a candidate’s body language, tone, expressions and answers — but rarely is the focus on the questioner as well, said Matt Eventoff, a political communications strategist with PPS Associates/Princeton Public Speaking.
“In the past, the questioner has often played a more passive role. In this medium, there will be a lot more analysis placed on the questioner and his or her tone, expressions, body language and actual question,” he commented.
“The partnering between traditional media (CNN) and new media (YouTube) not only adds even more legitimacy to emerging technologies,” Eventoff observed, “it also, in some ways, validates the importance of more traditional mediums of communication.” 
TechNewsWorld
06/15/07
By Erika Morphy
TechNewsWorld
06/15/07
The Questioner Takes Center Stage
…Whether or not the YouTube debate will serve up similar pablum remains to be seen. There is hope that it will not, though, mainly because YouTube has come to signify the Wild West character of Web 2.0 and its disruptive impact on politics.
Then there is the wild card aspect of having ordinary people ask questions. For example, a question about the country’s healthcare situation could be framed by the questioner’s real-life situation involving a seriously ill child who cannot get coverage. Immediately, the debate shifts away from dry policy, and viewers home in on how the candidate connects and communicates with that person.
From a political communications standpoint, debates are often analyzed by a candidate’s body language, tone, expressions and answers — but rarely is the focus on the questioner as well, said Matt Eventoff, a political communications strategist with PPS Associates/Princeton Public Speaking.
“In the past, the questioner has often played a more passive role. In this medium, there will be a lot more analysis placed on the questioner and his or her tone, expressions, body language and actual question,” he commented.
“The partnering between traditional media (CNN) and new media (YouTube) not only adds even more legitimacy to emerging technologies,” Eventoff observed, “it also, in some ways, validates the importance of more traditional mediums of communication.”
