In today's world with so many sources to gain information, from television to radio to the internet, it would be very advantageous for Presidents to start using these sources; most of all the internet. The U.S. has the greatest amount of internet users than any other country and this would be the best possibly way for the President to communicate with the citizens. Any given day on the UC campus, you'll see hundreds of people using the internet for news, entertainment, or communication. Since so many people use the internet in our generation, it would be logical for the President, and political parties, to use this as a means to reach us.
Probably the most effective tool today would be the internet. During President Obama's campaign, he used Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to reach U.S. citizens, especially the younger generations. Obama set the stage for a new wave of getting information directly from the people involved in the government. Since Obama started this, many other politicians have done the same thing. Obama has a Twitter account to update what is going on in the White House every day. He also has a Facebook page, with millions of fans.
The main source of news for me is the internet, since i'm on it at least once every day of my life. I usually get it from MSNBC.com, since I feel that that is a news station that I like the most. Sometimes I will watch the news on TV, but i'd rather go to the internet first. The main source where my parents get the news is from the TV and talk radio. My father listens to very conservative radio hosts, such as Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, and also watches the Fox News Channel.
The way we learn of news has changed drastically from the sources that were available ten years ago. Back then, the internet wasn't what it is today and people got their news mostly from the TV. The Internet provides a relief from TV, where people can read and hear many different people's opinion instead of the opinion of just one news anchor.
I think the White House has finally realized that to get their message to the younger generations, they need to go above and beyond just using television. Most young people spend probably at least ten minutes on the internet daily at the least, and many spend hours. Using the internet is the best possible way for the White House to communicate with U.S. citizens, since this is a changing world. This greatly helps the White House relate with the younger generations who have grown up using the internet.
Some risks would be that too much information may be out in the internet about our government, which could hurt our country in the long run.
In the last paragraph you touched on an important aspect of information and political leadership: What if there's too much information? Does that lead people to not trust the government? Interesting . . .
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