“_____ with its penetration, its wide geographic distribution and impact, provides a new, direct and sensitive link.  The people have once more become the nation, as they have not been since the days when we were small enough each to know his elected representative. As we grew, we lost this feeling of direct contact – _____has now restored it.”

In both cases, the missing word in this quote is ‘television’; a medium that many believe once revolutionized the American electorate.

The quote is taken from a speech by Frank Stanton, president of CBS from 1946 to 1971. Stanton clearly saw TV as a way to transform people into witnesses, to inform the public, and to stimulate discussion and debate.

Here we are, just two months before an American presidential election, and once again TV continues to make its mark.  According to Nielson ratings, 38.9 million viewers tuned in to ‘traditional’ television for John McCain’s speech at the Republican National Convention; half a million more than the number of viewers that tuned in to hear Barack Obama’s.  But this is no longer the complete picture.

After every recent high-profile speech, whether it was Sarah Palin’s ‘do-or-die debut’, the nomination acceptances, or the unveiling of running mates, the volume of downloads of online videos, or IP television (IPTV) has soared.  McCain may have had more viewers sat in front of their television screens, but the democrats had more overall viewers.

According to online ranking specialists Visible Measures, 7.8 million Democratic National Convention online videos were viewed across 278 different video placements, compared to three million Republican National Convention video views online in 265 unique video placements.

Television, this time delivered and viewed across the internet as web-based TV or IPTV, is yet again proving to be a major driving force for political communication between candidates and for the national nominating conventions. There is also a very interesting slant here in terms of the different numbers between democrats and republicans, which could either reflect campaign tactics or the demographics of each group.

Web-based TV simply enables messages to be transmitted, allowing empathy to be established with large audience, and encouraging viewers to get interactive by joining discussions, posting content, or even emailing their own videos. The “feeling of direct contact” that Frank Stanton mentioned in his speech has seamlessly developed into a two-way street thanks to web-based TV. Viewers no longer have to get to know the candidates passively; they now get to have their say, if they choose to.

I think Frank Stanton would be pleased.