From informing the public of the agenda the government wishes to take, to the way in which journalism acts as the 4th estate, becoming a watchdog for the states policies media has always been an important instrument of politics and the way in which the state works. In this age of new media however, the government has increasingly less influence over what the public has access to, changing the way in which they work completely.
New Media has allowed the state to have a larger interaction with the public, changing the way in which the political run works. The state now needs to create a public image, one in which their voters can feel they are active within. This involves embracing the way in which the new media allows increased connectivity, beyond that of the past. Something clearly used in the Obama campaign throughout 2008, in which twitter and youtube (with 52m views) were used to express his policies to the public. He was also able to “raise a near-record $52m, of which $31m were donations of $200 or less” to fund his campaign (The Economist 2008). His successful use of the social media attributes to the power this has among the public.
With the constant connectivity it has allowed, new media does not contain only positives in the world of politics. Former Australian Primeminister Kevin Rudd’s time in office remained, simply, chaotic. He was “up till 3am, and back at work at 6am” (Ellis 2010), constantly trying to keep up with the ‘never sleeping’ new media. This, an obvious health issue, could be the reason in which his policies remained curious, which in turn lead to his downfall and replacement by Julia Gillard.
New Media is a double-edged sword in terms of politics, both possibly causing destruction of the state, or providing new ways of better communication and public notice.
By Wayne Blair, z3290795
Tutorial – Monday 4pm
Refernces
- Nicols, H. and Johnston, N. 2011 ‘Pbama pits campaign playbook to use promoting agenda on twitter, youtube’ Bloomberg, accessed online 30th April 2011, <http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-27/obama-uses-campaign-playbook-to-promote-agenda-on-social-media.html>
- The Economist 2008, ‘Flickering here, twittering there’ The Economist, accessed online 20th April 2011, <http://www.economist.com/node/11920873>
- Ellis, B. 2010 ‘Sleepless in Canberra’ The Drum Opinion, accessed online 30th April, 2011 <http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/35116.html>
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