The concept of journalists acting as
gatekeepers in the news is one that is as old as print itself. The media sector
has been called the fourth estate of government for decades because of its role
in politics and public opinion. However, the days of "Extra! Extra! Read
all about it!" are close to over, as the news industry is shifting and
media is changing.
There was a time when journalists
acted like the gatekeeper of news by deciding whose voice was heard in the
reporting. They decided what stories were newsworthy. They chose which
candidates would make the front page. But social media has completely upended
and eroded that power. As the news cycle has become continuous and the role of
sites like Facebook, Buzzfeed, Twitter, and Tumblr has increased, campaigns
have drastically changed.
We saw this shift with the Barack
Obama campaigns of 2008 and 2012. His campaign team knew how to rally voters
and raise funds with tools like email, Twitter, and Facebook. Just last year,
Barack Obama mobilized Americans to sign up for Obamacare with a quirky and fun
Buzzfeed video. This is how candidates are reaching, not only young voters, but
active voters.
Now, in 2015, the social media king
is Bernie Sanders. Like most candidates, Bernie's team sends out daily Call-to-Action
emails highlighting his action in the Senate and his presidential platform.
However, unlike many other candidates on either side of the race, Bernie's
popularity with the youngest section of eligible voters is showcased all over
Facebook, Twitter, and, most effectively, Tumblr.
Though the national polls and
mainstream media outlets still doubt Bernie Sanders' potential as a legitimate
candidate, you would be hard pressed to find a Facebook feed that didn't have
at least one 20-something user posting about the Vermont Senator. In fact,
during the duration of his campaign, his Twitter and Facebook pages have gone
from unfollowed and unliked to surpassing his rival candidates.
Bernie Sanders’ Facebook page has
1.4 million likes, according to a Reuters report. This is more than his
Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. Other pages like “Feel the Bern,” “I’m Ready
for Bernie Sanders,” and several hundred regional pages, have their own massive
followings. Facebook is becoming a great tool for crowd rallying because it
spreads information about events and news rapidly. It is also a forum that
opens up discussion and deliberation about topics ranging from high school
gossip to political platforms.
According to Twitter, 446,000 users
are “Feeling the Bern,” and following the Senator. This is more than Jeb Bush
and Chris Christie’s followers combined. Twitter is a great venue for sharing
short quotes from rallies, interviews, or pieces of policy quickly and often
with literally hundreds of thousands of supporters. Users also have the option
of filtering tweets with hashtags like #feelthebern and #bernie2016. However,
the real influence of Twitter on the 2016 White House race has changed
dramatically with the announcement that Twitter Inc. will be collaborating with
mobile payments company Square Inc. to allow users to request and submit donations
to campaigns via “$cashtags.” This will just add another means for Sanders’
team to rack in small donations in large quantities.
The role of a popular blogging site,
Tumblr, in this campaign is particularly apparent in the case of Sanders. With
charts comparing Sanders to Clinton in a light far more flattering on him
circulating the site, Tumblr has become a means of spreading Sanders' platform
and highlighting his strengths. Trendy social media sites are increasing
Sanders' name and face recognition simply with memes, photos, and catchy
hashtags like #feelthebern.
Just like on Twitter, Facebook, and
Tumblr, Sanders is dominating the political scene on the popular site, Reddit.
The subreddit /r/sandersforpresident has over 64,000 subscribers, while
r/HillaryClinton has 370.
The Hill columnist
Brent Budowsky points out that Bernie’s brilliant use of social media, which
couples well with his “large numbers of devoted supports and excited
activists,” that helps Sanders repeatedly drive crowds to his public events,
mobilize donors, and eventual bring out “above-average turnout” at voting.
Budowsky compares the 2016 campaign, in regard to social media, to the day
after the Nixon-Kennedy televised debates; everything has changed for elections
and politics will never be the same.
Numerous political analysts have
cited Barack Obama’s use of social media to pull in small donations as one of
the game-changing aspects of the 2008 race. In May, Sanders told The Daily Beast, that he sees Obama’s
2008 campaign as “one of the greatest campaigns in American history.” It’s not
hard to recognize that Sanders has been taking a few lessons about social media
out of Obama’s book.
http://blogs.reuters.com/talesfromthetrail/2015/09/15/how-sanders-has-used-social-media-to-fuel-his-rise/
