Tuesday night’s Democratic debate was widely anticipated for its groundbreaking format. Candidates took on a host of issues asked by citizens via YouTube videos; what follows is an analysis of the format and major themes of the debate as compared with public opinion data.
The presidential hopefuls are using their web sites for unprecedented two-way communication with citizens. But what are voters learning here? Is it more than a way to bypass the media? A new PEJ study of 19 campaign sites finds Democrats are more interactive, Republicans are more likely to talk about “values,” and neither wants to talk about ideology.
That’s the percentage of U.S. adults who used the internet during the 2006 midterm election campaigns to get political news and information and to discuss the races through email. And the number of Americans using the internet as their main source of political material doubled since the last mid-term election, rivaling the number from the 2004 presidential election year.
Americans flocked in record numbers to their favorite media sources for political news last fall. In this report, fans of newspaper, TV and online news sites tell how and why they differ.
That’s the portion of campaign internet users — adults who used the internet during the 2006 midterm election campaigns to get political news and information and discuss the races through email — who also used the internet to create and share political content. These creators are particularly active in every type of online political activity.