Why every politician should stream their own State of the Union response

BY MATT BINDER
14 HOURS AGO


Excerpt:

The reality is that the State of the Union response is an antiquated concept created by TV networks for ratings.

FDR delivered the first “official” State of the Union address in 1934. In 1965, Lyndon B. Johnson delivered the first televised evening State of the Union address. Moving the President’s remarks to primetime delivered better TV ratings. So, the following year the television networks extended an invitation to the GOP to deliver their own State of the Union response, the first time such a response was delivered.

Fast forward 53 years later. We now live in a world where anyone can start up their very own live broadcast and stream to millions on YouTube or Facebook. The country is no longer bound to a practice originally created to boost TV ratings. Emerging, often overlooked, voices shouldn’t have to wait for the standard-bearers of the political parties to get with the times — they can open an app, go live, and spread their message whenever they want. Soon every politician will be live-streaming their own response to the State of the Union, and they should!

An increasing number of people are getting their news from social media platforms. According to a recent Pew study, 43 percent of Americans get their news from Facebook. YouTube comes in second with 21 percent of Americans following the news from what’s uploaded to the video platform. We’re seeing a huge shift from the old guards of traditional media to platforms where anyone can have a voice. What better way to take your message directly to the people?

Stifling important voices from these platforms will just give people less of a choice on platforms inundated with fake news, conspiracy theories, and dangerous idealogues. Fighting against multiple responses is not only a losing battle — doing so is a detriment to the party.

https://mashable.com/article/state-of-the-union-response-controversy-streaming/#fAUwFZ9YVZqw