Plan to Use YouTube Videos in Debate Attracts Disdain
Tonight's Democratic presidential debate, sponsored by CNN and YouTube, will feature questions from citizens submitted via the video-sharing site. That might sound like a great way to allow people other than the media or a hand-picked audience to ask questions, but it has been royally roasted in the blogosphere.
Hot Air writes that YouTube should post a note on the first page of the questions submitted for tonight that reads, "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here."
The top secret team that's sifting through the pile of questions, rants, false flag lobbying operations and statements dressed as questions must be cursing whoever came up with this idea. I went about 1100 videos in (out of about 2700 total) before concluding that the vast majority of people who submitted questions are a) very, very liberal and b) mostly ignorant or unconsciously self-parodying, c) self-important beyond reason and d) really, really have some problem or other with America.
NPR's Robert Smith reports on Day to Day that most people who want to ask the candidates a question "blow it," putting their pets or kids on camera or dressing up like Elvis. And Smith also notes it's that "top secret team" (CNN producers) that has bloggers upset. Many don't think it's appropriate for back-room media types to pick the videos and that it should be done by the YouTube community itself.
So the Web site Community Counts is asking online users to pick the questions that should be used. (The No. 1 question this afternoon is about impeaching President Bush.) And two of the candidates, Chris Dodd and John Edwards, have agreed to answer top questions chosen by the Community Counts users.
If there is one thing we've learned about online communities, it's that they react negatively when they believe their freedom to choose is being limited. Online tools like YouTube have the potential to give voice to lots of people and open up the political process. But the structure for tonight's debate makes it not much different than if the audience had been picked in advance.
5:44 PM ET | 07-23-2007 | permalink
