November 02, 2008 07:47 AM UTC

Internet now #2 source for election news

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• by: DavidThi808

According to Pew Research

Many more Americans are turning to the internet for campaign news this year as the web becomes a key source of election news. Television remains the dominant source, but the percent who say they get most of their campaign news from the internet has tripled since October 2004 (from 10% then to 33% now).

While use of the web has seen considerable growth, the percentage of Americans relying on TV and newspapers for campaign news has remained relatively flat since 2004. The internet now rivals newspapers as a main source for campaign news. And with so much interest in the election next week, the public’s use of the internet as a campaign news source is up even since the primaries earlier this year. In March, 26% cited the internet as a main source for election news, while the percentages citing television and newspapers remain largely unchanged.

Of course we all know this 🙂 But it’s interesting to see how this is playing out. ColoradoPols is the all-partisian site for this state so we are a key part of all of this.

And it creates a very level playing field with low barriers of entry. For example, the Colorado Ballot site I created. This cost me $12.00 and 2 nights effort to create & put up there. And I’ve spent a couple of hundred on google ads to bring in viewers. There are 5 – 10 other websites out there discussing the initiatives. And each of these is reaching people who want this info – as opposed to even TV ads which people are trying to tune out.

My daughters, my wife, most of my co-workers, when it came time to vote they went to the net to find the info they needed on each item that they did not know enough about. TV ads may have influenced them, but they were doing their research on the net. It may turn out that in terms of actual influence, that the net may have surpassed TV. It certainly has for a significant subset of the voters.

And then add in the YouTube effect where the lies of candidates like Bob Schaffer can be immediately refuted. And refuted in a way that causes them much more harm than the advantage gained from the initial lie.

The internet clearly is the key reason that the Republican approach to winning elections is now failing.