They originate on the internet, but more people are viewing them on TV than online.
If you ask political news consumers what they like most about their favorite platform for news, a vivid image of a typical TV, newspaper, and internet political news consumer will emerge from their own comments. All three media forms win praise from their primary fans for their convenience but the context for its definition varies.
A new poll finds the number of Americans who got most of their information about the 2006 campaign on the internet doubled from the 2002 mid-term election, and many used the web to become politically involved.
Nearly two-thirds of registered voters (64%) received recorded telephone messages in the final stages of the 2006 mid-term election. These so-called "robo-calls" were the second most popular way for campaigns and political activists to reach voters, trailing only direct mail.
If the mid-term election of 2006 marked a transition in American political life -- the loss by the Republicans of both the House and the Senate -- the campaign also marked a transition in the rapidly changing landscape of the news media covering it.
Political fund-raising, campaigning, blogging and YouTubing are all on the rise, but they're still a small part of the election scene.
With mid-term elections approaching, record numbers of Americans are turning to the internet for information on politics and campaigns.
