Circumventing the MSM with podcasts and videoblogs:

[AP]

In the same way that John Edwards's campaign was about flowing political, economic and cultural power from the super-wealthy and down to people who work for a living, he's using his website to circumvent the super-powerful MSM and vesting media power in people at the base of the power pyramid rather than at the top.

This really hit home for me today when I checked out the first videoblog. He has Amanda Congdon interview him in his backyard. Amanda Congdon is a recent Northwestern graduate who has done a little acting (small parts in a few TV series), but is well-known on the internet because of her video-blog (www.amandacongdon.com). The idea of plucking this woman out of MSM (but not internet) obscurity and having her interview Edwards is brilliant.

If King, Woodruff and Cameron are at the top of the pyramid, Congdon is at the base of the media pyramid. Obviously, Amanda Congdon is not going to be corrupted like the FOXCNNABCNBCCBS interviewers, yet she is sufficiently well known that 1000s of people might catch her interview thanks to the viral nature of the internet.

It'll be fascinating to see how far Edwards can take this up to 2008. It may be the case that by November 2008, so many people will be getting their information about the candidates through people like Congdon that the MSM will see their ability to mediate reality greatly weakened. (Just imagine what Kerry could have done with podcasts if they were as popular a year ago as they are now...and then imagine where videoblogs will be in 3 years.)

DU'ers should really do everything they can to help push things in that direction.

Check out the link:

http://blog.oneamericacommittee.com/index.pl?section=videoblog