PennTags Feed for /tag/politics

Harry M. Benshoff Article

Benshoff, Harry M. Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho, Is Disney High or Low? From Silly Cartoons to Postmodern Politics.

JSTOR: Science Fiction Studies, Vol. 9, No. 3 (Nov., 1982), pp. 294-305

Crossley, Robert. Politics and the Artist: The Aesthetic of Darkness and the Light.

JSTOR: The Journal of American History, Vol. 82, No. 1 (Jun., 1995), pp. 84-110

Watts, Steven. Walt Disney: Art and Politics in the American Century.

Worldwide Political Science Abstracts

Walt Disney: Art and Politics in the American Century

Watts, Stephen. "Walt Disney: Art and Politics in the American Century" The Journal of American History 82(1): 84-110.

This essay by Steven Watts presents a historical look at Walt Disney and his films, and the effect that Disney’s background had on his filmmaking. Watts explains that Disney’s conservative, Midwestern upbringing made him sympathetic to the common man, and his films reflected that. Mickey Mouse was the representative populist hero, always shown triumphing over someone larger or more powerful. The article traces Disney’s shift from an idealistic supporter of FDR and the New Deal to a disillusioned anti-Communist. He made countless training and propaganda films during WWII, but his experience with the US government proved to be frustrating, which contributed to his change in politics. Watts concludes the article by explaining how Disney’s identity as “Mr. Average American” allowed him to reach a wide audience and mediate historical change.

This article explains how Disney became a cultural force and was able to enact political change through films like The New Spirit and Spirit of ’43. It also gives insight into the development of his ideals and how they played into his decisions as a filmmaker and studio head. During World War II, he was already well-known for making films that appealed to children and adults, which is why his propaganda films were so effective. The films contain recognized characters like Donald Duck, who is described as representing someone who “has no qualms about asserting his capabilities and defending his place in society” (98). Disney was able to become a cultural phenomenon, and because of this, his films like The New Spirit and Spirit of ’43 were able to have real political implications.

CNN Cold War - Historical Document: Walt Disney testifies

This is a transcript from testimony Walt Disney gave in 1947 in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee. Disney explains the films he made during WWII, referring to them as propaganda and anti-Nazi. He also talks about the impact he believes his films had on the public during the war, particularly with regards to The New Spirit and Spirit of ‘43. According to Disney, 29% of Americans said that the films caused them to pay their taxes earlier and gave them a better understanding of what taxes do. He goes on to implicate former studio employees as members of the Communist party, and states that they are to blame for the strike the Disney studio experienced a few years prior. In his testimony, Disney makes clear his anti-Communist and anti-labor union sentiments.

In this source, Disney himself discusses his war films and the effect they had on the world during World War II. He establishes that film is an effective way to disseminate propaganda, and cites a study that claims that his films caused 29% of people to file their income taxes earlier. This is a very significant effect, and it indicates that not only were people watching the Disney films, but they were changing their behavior based on them. In part due to Disney’s films, the war effort was able to garner the support of the American people.

Copyright and the Public Interest

The purpose of copyright law is to "promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries." Such a goal presumably serves the public interest because copyright protection encourages creativity and learning and thus benefits the progression of society. The First Amendment intends to protect freedom of expression and freedom of speech, including political speech. These rights also serve the public interest, as political speech allows the public to make educated and informed decisions when partaking in the democratic process held so sacred in the United States Constitution. There must be a delicate balance between copyright law and First Amendment rights, as copyright somewhat limits these rights. For example, political campaigns employ copyrighted material in ads, speeches, and videos for the purpose of (free) political speech. It can be argued that to treat such acts of political campaigns as copyright infringement limits the First Amendment right to freedom of speech. If such action of political campaigns is copyright infringement and thus eliminated or censored, it can be said that copyright severely hurts the public interest. When examining the role of copyright, it must then be addressed, does copyright help or harm the public interest?

Fashion Copyright, "Corruption," and the Unheard Consumer

Sprigman, Christopher. "Fashion Copyright, 'Corruption,' and the Unheard Consumer." Public Knowledge Blog. http://www.publicknowledge.org/node/1404. February 20, 2008.

This blog provides some very useful insight into how the fashion industry works and the corruption plauging the industry. The fashion industry's success can be attributed to the cyclical nature of consumption. Basically, copying helps to set trends, trends lead to consumption, more copying destroys that same trend due to overexposure, and the industry moves on to new trends. Therefore, copying does not harm the process; it is the process that creates profits in fashion. Why then would anyone want to destroy the process that generates money? Sprigman answers this question by accusing the Council for Fashion Designers of America of corruption and selfishness. The CFDA is the group that is promoting copyright laws for fashion design. However, the CFDA only represents a small fraction of the industry, the elite designers. The needs of the thousands of non-elite designers, manufacturers, retailers, distributors, and consumers are completely overlooked by the CFDA. These elite designers, who sell clothes for ridiculous prices, are the only ones who can afford to compete and prosper in a revised industry where every design is subject to infrigement suits. This is because these elite groups are the only ones who can afford lawyers. Just to increase profit a little for the small group of elite designers, the CFDA is going to raise prices and reduce consumer choices in an industry that has been incredibly successful for a very long time. These laws hurt consumers. However, consumer needs are ignored because of corrupt politics. These elite corporations can afford to pay Congressmen to sponsor the passing of bills they support. Therefore, intellectual property laws are badly warped due to elite desires and political corruption.

Although blogs are not necessarily the most reliable sources, the author of this blog is Chris Sprigman, the author of the Piracy Paradox. This blog is so interesting because it provides a completely different take on the fashion copyright war: a political angle. Rather than having an equal amount of people of either side of the debate, Sprigman argues that only a very few elite designers actually support these laws. The other supporters, such as those in Congress, are just a result of corruption. The argument here is the decision made regarding this issue should benefit the majority or the "public good." Since the CFDA is a small fraction of the fashion industry, passing these laws would harm the majority simply because this elite group is able to buy support. Therefore, this article is structured around attacking the CFDA and Congress and their reasons for supporting design protection. This will be very beneficial to my paper and argument since I can use these claims to counterargue declarations that fashion copyright will benefit the industry, consumers, and the fashion cycle.

Commercial Slogans: The First Amendment Should Shield Their Use in Campaign Speech

This article focuses on trademark law opposed to copyright law. While trademark and copyright are distinct, the argument for the protection of one has significant bearing on the argument for the protection of the other. Since this article argues against the protection of trademarks in political speech, it will have an impact on the topic of copyright in political speech, which contributes to the larger picture of copyright and the public interest.

Smith argues that the First Amendment should protect the use of trademarks in political campaigns. Trademark owners argue that use of slogans diminish the product's selling power by way of multiple associations. While such an argument is valid in holding a commercial organization responsible for infringment, it does not apply to political campaigns. This article holds that "the First Amendment should shield politicians' use of commercial slogans in speech that promotes their candidacies or conveys their positions on issues of public importance." In the discussion of campaign speech, Smith notes that the Supreme Court consistently supports the First Amendment's purpose to protect "free discussion of governmental affairs," which includes discussion of candidates. She also notes that political advertisements cannot be censored. Smith acknowledges the view that "the First Amendment does not protect all political speech; the theft of or trespass onto the mark constitutes a harm that should trump First Amendment protection even of political speakers; and a strong public interest in protecting trademarks exists." She rebuts this, however, by arguing that candidate speech deserves the most protection because it is imperative to the democratic process of self government. The article's ultimate conclusion is clear; trademark law trumps First Amendment protection if commercial use of a mark causes confusion or deception in the market, but First Amendment rights win when a mark is used for what should be highly valued and protected political speech.

As mentioned above, this article deals with trademark law opposed to copyright law. However, the argument against trademark law trumping First Amendment rights can transfer to the realm of copyright. It provides strong affirmative support for the position that copyright law should serve the public interest. This line of support focuses on the specific level of political campaigns, through which the public receives important information and can then partake in self government, a highly valued Constitutional right. Protecting speech, and limiting copyright, in such a realm as politics benefits the public interest.

Copyright (c) 1999 Publications Council of the College of William and Mary
William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal
December, 1999
8 Wm. & Mary Bill of Rts. J. 241

ACLU Blog: Because Freedom Can't Blog Itself: Official Blog of the American Civil Liberties Union B; Online Service Providers and Content Owners Must Protect Political Speech

The ACLU blog fights for online service providers and content owners to safeguard free speech, as record amounts of individuals are using the "publically accessive but privately owned" arenas to discuss matters of governmental and political importance. The public, then, relies on service providers etc. to protect such free speech, which lately has been threatened for violating a site's terms of use or infringing copyright. The blog lists recent examples, such as YouTube's removal of a video about John McCain that used images necessary for commentary on the canditates support of the war in Iraq. The blog implies that such a video is fair use and as political commentary it should be permitted, but the video was taken down regardless. The authors of the entry, Nicole Ozer and Corynne McSherry, of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), push content owners and providers to assess whether such speech is fair use before "pulling the plug on political speech." Further, they acknowledge that those who wish to restrict others' free speech can instead exercise their own constitutional rights and respond with more free speech, thus serving the democratic process.

This post in the ACLU blog supports the notion that, at least in some circumstances, copyright protection can hurt the public interest. The constitution protects free speech, and exercising this right in the political realm is certainly protected. To suppress this right hurts not only the First Amendment, but also the public interest. By censoring political speech and opinions, copyright protection does not foster a fully free election in which, throughout the campaign, the public has appropriate access to information necessary to make a decision on who to elect and what policies are best. The policies and the people making them are crucial to the interests on the country, hence the public interest, and, according to this argument, copyright does not serve the public interest by restricting individuals' First Amendment rights.

Politicians sometimes cross the line in using news copy to advance their campaigns. (Winter 2001)

Dan Bischof raises the problem of political candidates using copyrighted media content for campaign purposes. The problem is twofold; media outlets are harmed because they are seen as endorsing (or not endorsing) a candidate when one campaign selectively pulls material to highlight, and candidates also face copyright infringement claims. The article discusses many examples, but brings to light one in particular involving a candidates use of CSPAN coverage and CSPAN logos. In this ad, the candidate claimed fair use. The district court put an injunction on the ad, but the court of appeals put a hold on the injunction to allow the ad to be played. The only note of agreement between the two courts was that the ad could not use the CSPAN logo because of trademark protection. But, being news reporting, the court of appeals stated that the CSPAN coverage itself was not copyright protected and thus "First Amendment rights and political free speech have prevailed." Further, two reasons are cited as to why there is a lack of court activity in this arena. First, the cases must be pursued so quickly and once the election is over, the point is moot. In addition to the speed with which these cases must be dealt with, campaigns often pull ads before legal action can be taken by the media outlets. The article concludes with the argument that if the use of copyrighted material is allowed and goes unchallenged or unpunished, it "set[s] a precedent that may allow violation of that copyright without penalty in the future... so you have to be ever vigilant."

Ultimately, the article is explanatory in nature in terms of depicting how candidates may violate copyright and why legislation is rare, but it is prescriptive in arguing that this issue must be addressed. Specifically, it implies that campaigns must tread lightly when using copyrighted works because unless it truly is a case of fair use, copyright risks being violated and undermined. This sort of opinion takes the opposite view from the beliefs of Lessig, who argues that copyright should be expanded for political campaigns. Rather, this contributes to the debate with the notion that copyright must be interpreted as is in order to ensure proper protection and service to the public interest.

"Politicians sometimes cross the line in using news copy to advance their campaigns." The News media [0149-0737] 25.1 (2001). 10-.

YouTube copyright letter 10.13.08.pdf (application/pdf Object)

Trevor Potter, the General Counsel for the McCain/Palin campaign, wrote a letter to YouTube regarding its take down of campaign videos based on overreaching copyright claims that did not, infact, infringe upon copyright protection. Potter claims that YouTube's actions, thus, silenced political speech. The letter argues that inclusion of footage from news broadcasts in campaign ads or videos serves as commentary on the issues in the reports or on the reports themselves, and based on the four factors, the ads and videos constitute fair use--

1. The uses are non-commercial and transformative.

2. The uses are factual.

3. The uses are extremely brief and do not take more than what is neccessary for the commentary.

4. The uses have no effect on the market for the supposedly infronged upon work.

Potter thus argues that this fair use is not infringing copyright and should not have been taken down. Further, he argues that the take down of such videos deprives the public. Although according the the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) and YouTube's policies the video can be re-released in 10-14 days, this is a lifetime in terms of political campaigns, and it hurts the public to deny them access to such videos. The letter suggests that YouTube give full fair use analyses to any video posted by an account related to a campaign. The benefits to the public will far outweigh the time costs. Potter closes the letter with reference to a past case in which the judge "recognized the importance of protecting copyright from interfering with political candidates' free and full exercise of their First Amendment right to vigorously debate the issues of the day."

Many aspects of this letter scream out that claims of copyright infringement harm free speech and thus harm the public interest. Uses of copyrighted materials that are fair use cannot be denied, and when they are, it stifles political speech, which is a guranteed right of the First Amendment. To do so "deprives the public of the ability to freely and easily view and discuss" important political issues. The quote from a judge in an earlier case makes the point rather well; "Discussion of public issues and debate on the qualifications of candidates are integral to the operation of the system of government established by our Constitution. The First Amendment affords the broadest protection to such political expression in order to assure the unfettered interchange of ideas for the bringing about of political and social changes desired by the people... The debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open." He continues to argue that because the elected officials will make the decisions that undoubtedly effect the people of the nation, these people cannot be denied the right to engage in such political speech, and thus the right must be fervently protected. When claims of copyright infringment overstep their boundaries and "chill political speech," the public interest is undeniably harmed because their ability to fully participate in the political process is removed.

Must Reads for Foodies

In defense of food : an eater's manifesto / Michael Pollan.

Pollan, Michael. . In defense of food : an eater's manifesto / Michael Pollan. 9781594201455 series New York : Penguin Press, 2008.
Call#: Van Pelt Library RA784 .P643 2008

World Press Review

Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics

Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics
-from Sage Full-Text Collections
Holdings: 1996-

The Growing Importance of Issue Competition: The Changing Nature of Party Competition in Western Europe

Green-Pedersen,C Green-Pedersen,C. "The Growing Importance of Issue Competition: The Changing Nature of Party Competition in Western Europe" Political studies [0032-3217] 55.3 (2007). 607-628. Found via Worldwide Political Science Abstracts.

The Swedish parliamentary election of 2006

Widfeldt,A . "The Swedish parliamentary election of 2006" Electoral Studies [0261-3794] 26.4 (2007). 820-823. Found via Worldwide Political Science Abstracts

Governance

The Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) project reports aggregate and individual governance indicators for 212 countries and territories over the period 1996–2006, for six dimensions of governance: voice and accountability, political stability and absence of violence, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law, control of corruption.

Carlson, Shear and Carringer. "Citizen Kane." JSTOR: PMLA, Vol. 91, No. 5, (1976 ), pp. 918-920

Carlson, Shear and Carringer. "Citizen Kane." PMLA, Vol. 91, No. 5 (Oct., 1976), pp. 918-920

In his letter to the editor of the PMLA, Walter Shear argues that Robert L. Carringer’s analysis of Kane’s character in “Rosebud, Dead or Alive: Narrative and Symbolic Structure in Citizen Kane” is overly complex and fails to see the obvious simplicity of the film. Carringer argues that Kane’s personality is a pastiche of the multiple viewpoints of all his closest acquaintances, and that this distorts any seemingly objective display or definitive account of the actual character. Carringer argues his case citing that the only way Kane’s character is revealed in the film is through interviews with close friends, associates and family members. As a result, the character, he argues, is subjected to the various biases of those describing him to the inquiring reporter, Jerry Thompson. Mr. Shear argues on the contrary that Kane’s character is revealed through his desire for people to love him. As Shear cites, “’Love… that’s why he did everything. That’s why he went into politics.’” He states that this relatively simple view can closely describe Kane’s actions and ambitions. Not only does it support Kane’s decision to run into politics; it also justifies Kane’s desire for his paper to have a personal relationship with each one of his readers. He also has multiple relationships in his young adulthood. Shear states that this quest for love could be a search to replace his mother as a source of love in his life. (This being a result of being snatched from his family at too young an age.)

Shear convincingly describes the motives of Charles Foster Kane’s impulses in life – politics, running a newspaper because it would be fun and enthusiastically underwriting his second wife’s singing career – all in an effort to gain acceptance and be adored by the public. With this knowledge in hand, one can very easily watch the film and understand some of the seemingly rash decisions that the character of Kane makes. Who in their right mind, with so many alternatives, choose to run a faltering newspaper “because it looks fun?” With a secure personal fortune and no need to earn money, it would make sense that a person in such a situation would seek to find personal gratification of a love that was never present in childhood.

9NEWS - Article - Seeking solutions for ski traffic mess

Seeking solutions for ski traffic mess
posted by: Jeffrey Wolf , Web Producer
written by: Kyle Clark , Reporter

DENVER - A state senator who was hassled for his congestion pricing idea has a suggestion for Coloradans: build a better bill yourself.

Sen. Chris Romer (D-Denver) says he received more than 800 constituent e-mails in response to his proposal for tolls along Interstate 70 during peak travel periods. Romer admits the feedback was overwhelmingly negative.

"Almost all of them ended up with the final line, 'I hate your idea but I love the fact that you started the dialogue,'" said Romer.

Now he's asking the public to help him come up with another idea. On Friday, Romer unveiled what he calls a "Wiki-Bill," a spin-off of the popular online user-edited encyclopedia, Wikipedia. Anyone can log onto a Web site created by Romer's staff and outline their solution to the congestion on ski weekends.

Politics of life itself : biomedicine, power, and subjectivity in the twenty-first century / Nikolas Rose.

Rose, Nikolas S. . Politics of life itself : biomedicine, power, and subjectivity in the twenty-first century / Nikolas Rose. 0691121907 (hardcover) series Princeton : Princeton University Press, c2007.
Call#: Van Pelt Library R725.5 .R676 2007

david harvey - A Brief History of Neoliberalism

lecture
A Brief History of Neoliberalism [02:02:30]
David Harvey
@ University of Pennsylvania (2006-11-02

From the Urban Studies Program at UPenn: "In his talk, Harvey will draw on his recent book, A Brief History of Neoliberalism (2005), in which he traces the rise of neoliberal principles based on the theory of free markets and unfettered international capital flows from an obscure economic theory to dominance on the world stage. Harvey shows how proponents of a neoliberal economic philosophy, such as the influential leaders Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, gained the consensus of key figures and economic and political institutions, driven by an aspiration to re-establish class power. He dissects the logic of neoliberalism, revealing its built-in contradictions and the tremendous variation in how it looks from place to place and at different scales. He will talk about how cities have both complied and resisted neoliberalism's discipline."

Lecture begins 00:06:35. Lecture ends and questions begin 01:25:55. Audio goes bad around 01:34:00.

Evolving Role of Internet in Politics/Campaigns

I'm researching the evolving role of the internet in politics, specifically in the last presidential elections (focusing on moveon.org and Howard Dean's campaign) up to the present efforts of some of the 2008 hopefuls. As I continue to research contemporary online strategies, John Edwards has become a particularly interesting example of the web-saavy candidate. Ultimately, I'm looking at the increasingly complex nature of internet politicking and the growing population of campaign internet users to make some observations about the future role of the internet in (campaign) politics - looking forward to the 2008 election and beyond. Useful websites are: moveon.org and onecorps.com.

NPR : Can Technology Help Get Out the Youth Vote?

Tim Wu talks with Neal Conan on NPR's Talk of the Nation about the possible ways presidential candidates might attempt to reach younger voters in the 2008 election. Wu speculates about candidates battling in virtual worlds (which may prove more "exciting" than real-life rallies, since you can actually blow things up). He talks about the increasing participation in virtual worlds like Second Life, but doesn't really contextualize the still relatively small virtual world population. Wu also speculates that it might become more acceptable for serious politicians to make cameo appearances on TV shows as a way of advertising their brand, i.e. themselves. Although he mentions Clinton, it might be useful to think about Gore's career since he left the White House. Appearances on Saturday Night Live and most recently the Oscars with his film An Inconvenient Truth have turned him into Hollywood's golden boy without detracting from (and if anything, increasing) his political clout. Will candidates still in office be able to garner popularity in this way - without worrying about their reputations as "serious" presidential candidates?

This clip is also useful because it imagines the possibilities for increased voter participation throughout the political process.

Internet and politics : citizens, voters and activists / edited by Sarah Oates, Diana Owen and Rachel K. Gibson.

Internet and politics : citizens, voters and activists / edited by Sarah Oates, Diana Owen and Rachel K. Gibson.[041534784X (hardback : alk. paper) ] London ; New York : Routledge, 2006.
Call#: Van Pelt Library JF799 .I62 2006

“The Internet and youth civic engagement in the United States”

Owen argues that the Internet may be facilitating, if not invigorating, youth civic engagement. She examines the online world as a hub for the coordination, integration and restructuring of political discourse.

Owen’s article is optimistic regarding future civic engagement, but often defines this engagement in terms of student political projects, voters looking at government websites, etc. She doesn’t offer much concrete evidence that these online practices translate into actual voting. She does, rather inadvertently, point out an interesting paradox: those users who are currently the most web-savvy are not yet old enough to legally vote. Furthermore, Owen’s article reveals that the Internet may only further engage those already intending to vote. She also rethinks the traditional concept of engagement, which in this case may mean community-building, blogging, etc. as opposed to actual voting.

This article gives useful breakdowns of American populations using the Internet by age, gender and race (although only in the categories “White” and “Black”) – but does not offer any analysis through more nuanced categories or race, class, geographical location, etc.

Convergence culture : where old and new media collide / Henry Jenkins.

Jenkins, Henry, 1958- . Convergence culture : where old and new media collide / Henry Jenkins. [9780814742815 (cloth : alk. paper) ] New York : New York University Press, 2006.
Call#: Annenberg Library Reserve P94.65.U6 J46 2006

"Photoshop for Democracy: The New Relationship between Politics and Popular Culture"

In chapter six, Jenkins discusses the role of popular culture in emerging political communities. Jenkins (as is the case throughout Convergence Culture) is focused on how old and new media interact and the dynamics of collaboration and participation. While Jenkins recognizes the scoff-factor when implying the concept of “photoshop for democracy” (user-generated images that often map themes from popular culture onto the political campaign) is any sort of substitute for real political activism, he insists that this kind of user-generated content and mass dispersion is a serious act of citizenry. In fact, using popular culture as a means of engaging voters might just be the most effective way of re-establishing interest in politics as a part of our everyday lives. Jenkins focuses on the 2004 election and recognizes that the next step is to think of “democratic citizenship as a lifestyle.” Furthermore, online political communities seem to be segregating voters, as opposed to encouraging dialogue across ideologies. Although he seems to offer popular culture as a kind of national balm for the ailments of political fragmentation, Jenkins recognizes the inherent limits of its role in (or applicability as a model for) contemporary political communities.

For me, the most useful parts of this argument is the attention he pays to the increasing participation of average Americans (now as monitorial citizens as opposed to informed citizens) in the media landscape and the possibilities for the integration of politics and popular culture. However, he doesn’t seem to offer any real solution for the acutely polarized political landscape.

The Internet and Campaign 2004: A Look Back at the Campaigners

Michael Cornfield's Commentary summarizes the ways in which the internet has become an essential medium of American politics. Cornfield outlines five major innovations of the Howard Dean (Joe Trippi, manager) 2004 campaign: news-pegged fundraising appeals, net-organized local gatherings, blogging, online referenda, decentralized decision-making. Cornfield examines the different Deanian techniques that Kerry and Bush utilized in their campaigns - Kerry focused more on fund-raising while Bush concentrated on grass-roots mobilization. Cornfield ultimately concludes that the Democrats started too late and were not effectively organized.

In an effort to analyze the techniques utilized by the emerging 2008 candidates, this article is useful for historicizing Internet politicking. One of the most interesting comments is Cornfield's re-imagining the concept of an "activist" - who might soon include "people who do little more than what ten minutes a month at their computers enable them to do." Although Moveon.org got 500,000 people to sign the petition against impeaching President Clinton, the House ultimately voted for impeachment. The organization's real power seems to have come from fund-raising for candidates. Is online activism now (say online petitions or virtual marches) as effective (in terms of real-world effects in policy, etc.) as live-action grassroots efforts - or could it be in the future?

This article (as its title indicates) is focused on the internet aspect of the 2004 campaign and does not offer a well-rounded examination of other campaign factors.

John Edwards: The E-Candidate

This article discusses Edwards' efforts to use new media to gain an edge in the 2008 elections. Formally announcing his candidacy via youtube, encouraging voters to text message their support, blogging through his own site www.onecorps.com, Edwards is, according to those quoted in the article, ahead of the online campaign curve. The article interestingly compares Edwards' approach to that of former Virginia Governor Mark Warner. Warner too utilized the online avenues but, according to Nancy Scola (former Hill staffer Howard Dean campaign volunteer) came across stiff and uneasy online. The implication here is that not only a campaign, but a particular type of personality, must be staged online to be effective. This leads me to wonder whether particular personalities translate across media - can Edwards mobilize his supporters outside of cyberspace? Although this report positively announces that twice as many Americans use the web as their primary source of news about the 2006 elections as they did in 2002, it seems to posit that the real political audience is still reached through TV. Concluding with a reference to Howard Dean, the article settles on the view that the Internet is an increasingly important medium, but still only one piece of the campaign puzzle, leaving us a bit unsure of the implications regarding Edwards' mastery of online tools. Ultimately, when it comes to presidential campaigns, does money still rule - or will the internet increasingly become THE most important piece of a candidate's strategy? In the future, could e-campaigns prove a democratizing force in the uneven playing-field of big-money politics?

The Evolving Role of the Internet in Politics/Campaigns

Tech President

This blog covers "how the 2008 presidential candidates are using the web, and vice versa," as well as looking at the effects of voter-generated content, social networking sites etc. For example, the attention paid to the number of friends a particular candidate has on a site like myspace is particularly interesting when thinking about the Howard Dean campaign and its inability to translate as an e-candidate to a real-time political contender. The contributers seem to represent a fairly broad political spectrum, and are ostensibly against "partisan" arguments. The bloggers include the Internet director of Dean's 2004 campaign and the e-campaign director for Bush-Cheney 2004.

This is my primary source of information for researching the ongoing efforts of the hopeful presidential nominees for the 2008 election. In particular, I'm curious to compare John Edwards' efforts to those of Howard Dean and speculate a bit on whether or not popular e-candidates have a shot at competing against campaign giants (with massive campaign contributions) like Obama, Clinton, Guiliani and McCain.

PennTags Feed for /tag/politics

Harry M. Benshoff Article

JSTOR: Science Fiction Studies, Vol. 9, No. 3 (Nov., 1982), pp. 294-305

JSTOR: The Journal of American History, Vol. 82, No. 1 (Jun., 1995), pp. 84-110

Worldwide Political Science Abstracts

Worldwide Political Science Abstracts

Walt Disney: Art and Politics in the American Century

CNN Cold War - Historical Document: Walt Disney testifies

Copyright and the Public Interest

Fashion Copyright, "Corruption," and the Unheard Consumer

Commercial Slogans: The First Amendment Should Shield Their Use in Campaign Speech

ACLU Blog: Because Freedom Can't Blog Itself: Official Blog of the American Civil Liberties Union B; Online Service Providers and Content Owners Must Protect Political Speech

Politicians sometimes cross the line in using news copy to advance their campaigns. (Winter 2001)

YouTube copyright letter 10.13.08.pdf (application/pdf Object)

Must Reads for Foodies

In defense of food : an eater's manifesto / Michael Pollan.

World Press Review

Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics

The Growing Importance of Issue Competition: The Changing Nature of Party Competition in Western Europe

The Swedish parliamentary election of 2006

Governance

Carlson, Shear and Carringer. "Citizen Kane." JSTOR: PMLA, Vol. 91, No. 5, (1976 ), pp. 918-920

9NEWS - Article - Seeking solutions for ski traffic mess

Politics of life itself : biomedicine, power, and subjectivity in the twenty-first century / Nikolas Rose.

david harvey - A Brief History of Neoliberalism

Evolving Role of Internet in Politics/Campaigns

NPR : Can Technology Help Get Out the Youth Vote?

Internet and politics : citizens, voters and activists / edited by Sarah Oates, Diana Owen and Rachel K. Gibson.

Convergence culture : where old and new media collide / Henry Jenkins.

The Internet and Campaign 2004: A Look Back at the Campaigners

John Edwards: The E-Candidate

The Evolving Role of the Internet in Politics/Campaigns

Tech President

techPresident b�