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A Blog examining the use of the Internet by political candidates, campaigns and organizations, activists and the media. |
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Spinning the Debates - OnlineOctober 6, 2004 The Democrats' took everyone by surprise after the first Presidential Debate last week in Miami by launching an aggressive online spin effort. Just hours after the first debate ended they emailed members of their Media Corps with a simple assignment: Your assignment: Immediately e-mail and call all the major networks and programs listed below saying that John Kerry won the debate. The Republicans are going to do everything possible to spin the debate in their favor. We need you on the offensive. In addition, the Democratic National Committee bought roughly $400,000 worth of ads on 50 sites, including USA Today, The Washington Post, MSNBC, The New York Times, Salon.com, Weather.com, ESPN.com and Movieline.com. The DNC also bought ads on local news sites. In an interview with Wired Magazine, the DNC's Internet Chief, Doug Kelly, explained the strategy: "The strategy was to stop George W. Bush and the Republicans from stealing the post-debate spin like they did in 2000. They dominated the post-debate spin then and we were not going to let that happen again." It worked. And post-debate spin has been forever changed. In the hours leading up to the Vice Presidential Debate in Cleveland on Tuesday, Bush Campaign Manager Ken Mehlman emailed supporters to say "If we plan to win the election, we must fight back against their spin and make sure our friends and neighbors get the truth." Like the Democrats had done the week before, the campaign provided their audience with contact information for all the major networks (CNN, MSNBC, NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, and C-SPAN) as well as links to online insta-polls. The Democrats revved their post-debate spin machine up again, emailing supporters with links and talking points, and launching an online ad campaign supporting Senator Edwards' performance across the web. Something was working -- in the moments after the debate ended, an online poll at MSNBC.com had Edwards winning 78% - 22% while a CNN.com insta-poll had Edwards winning 82% - 14%. Those numbers softened some over time, but the point was made. Of course, there are some who think that keyboard activists are misguided. David Weinberger The flood of emails from both sides spinning each detail of the debate has gotten to be hilarious. Email is not the right medium for this. We can wait ten or fifteen minutes. Besides, your chattering makes you sound frightened and like you don't trust us. Shhhh. Drink some cocoa. It'll be fine. Clearly, the two parties are still finding their way online. I applaud the Democrats for using online advertising to promote issues, and not just raise funds. Their efforts are innovative, and I suspect very effective. The Republicans, meanwhile, have a tremendous online operation focused on the debate itself -- some two dozen policy, communications and technical specialists working out of a war-room in Arlington, Virginia to produce live text and video feeds that “address Kerry’s eleven different positions on Iraq and inconsistent agenda.” But they rely heavily on traditional in-person and TV spin after the debate. With two head-to-head contests completed, the Democrats have the advantage.
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