Comments on: “BITTERGATE” BITES OBAMA http://pr-media-blog.co.uk/bittergate-bites-obama/ A blog about the world of PR and New Media Fri, 12 Mar 2010 05:39:20 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.2 By: Jon Clements http://pr-media-blog.co.uk/bittergate-bites-obama/#comment-107 Jon Clements Thu, 24 Apr 2008 08:05:02 +0000 http://pr-media-blog.co.uk/bittergate-bites-obama/#comment-107 Darren You've got a good point. If Obama's comments hadn't been so incendiary for the mindset of Middle America, they probably would've evaporated. But I think the issue is how - previously - imposing a news blackout by excluding journalists would've meant exactly that. But the boundaries between career reporters and citizen reporters are blurring sufficiently to mean that any utterance can be seized upon at any time (with the exception of Mr and Mrs Obama's pillow talk) and distributed without mediation. This piece from the Observer suggests how the mainstream media are posing the questions: "How did this happen? Aren't we in charge?" http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/apr/20/internet.barackobama Darren
You’ve got a good point. If Obama’s comments hadn’t been so incendiary for the mindset of Middle America, they probably would’ve evaporated.

But I think the issue is how - previously - imposing a news blackout by excluding journalists would’ve meant exactly that. But the boundaries between career reporters and citizen reporters are blurring sufficiently to mean that any utterance can be seized upon at any time (with the exception of Mr and Mrs Obama’s pillow talk) and distributed without mediation.

This piece from the Observer suggests how the mainstream media are posing the questions: “How did this happen? Aren’t we in charge?”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/apr/20/internet.barackobama

]]> By: Darren Lilleker http://pr-media-blog.co.uk/bittergate-bites-obama/#comment-102 Darren Lilleker Wed, 23 Apr 2008 07:38:39 +0000 http://pr-media-blog.co.uk/bittergate-bites-obama/#comment-102 I am usually cautious about declaring the web will have a massive impact, and the reason is that compared to many other media no single message can reach the same audience. It may reach a different audience, and can be targeted to who you want to talk to most; but lets say I have reservations on impact. This highlights why in many ways. 100,000 hits is like wow but a small number in terms of having an impact on public opinion or an election in itself. It is the fact that those 100,000 told others, it was then picked up by the mainstream journalists, hit rolling news, the papers and so got out. Hence, arguably the web had a significant impact. But would it have doen so if the journalists had thought it was not a story, probably not. The gatekeepers are still there and allow influence but still control the information the masses receive. That may change though!!! I am usually cautious about declaring the web will have a massive impact, and the reason is that compared to many other media no single message can reach the same audience. It may reach a different audience, and can be targeted to who you want to talk to most; but lets say I have reservations on impact.
This highlights why in many ways. 100,000 hits is like wow but a small number in terms of having an impact on public opinion or an election in itself. It is the fact that those 100,000 told others, it was then picked up by the mainstream journalists, hit rolling news, the papers and so got out. Hence, arguably the web had a significant impact.
But would it have doen so if the journalists had thought it was not a story, probably not. The gatekeepers are still there and allow influence but still control the information the masses receive.
That may change though!!!

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