How Jon Stewart Killed Barackstar

Apparently, losses yesterday in New Jersey and Virginia mean that the Progressive Majority James Carville predicted -- built a year ago on the backs of Obama's zealous Facebooking young voters -- has nose dived one year after the country's historic election. For those who don't put much weight, however, on the traditional rules of the game: It's clear that as a country we've returned to the pre-2008 narrative, despite compelling examples from countless young activists that grassroots-netroots organizing persists.

What has changed is the communications model that surrounds our efforts. If rogue viral video bloggers and Iowa-embedded tweeters led the news cycle in 2008, the MSM is back in 2009. The Obama administration, despite its hipster Flickr feed and weekly YouTube address, has presented a television-driven strategy, ceding a great deal of its street cred with the president's digital Millennial generation base.

Who fills this gap? Beyond apathetic conjecture, it's been up to Jon Stewart and FunnyOrDie.com to keep the kids engaged. Real journalists and concerned academics often scoff at this 'infotainment' model, but story telling of this nature tends to resonate.

On Sunday I gathered together a few of my colleagues who work in the infotainment space to discuss the role their craft has played and will continue to play in the growing momentum of the generation's political coming-of-age. Check out the panel discussion, which took place at Living Liberally's The Tank, featuring Baratunde Thurston (The Onion, Jack & Jill Politics), Katie Halper (Huffington Post), Matt Hooper ("Life is Cause"), Michael Skolnik (GlobalGrind.com) and moderated by Ari Melber (The Nation).

INFOTAINMENT POLITICS IN THE MILLENNIAL GENERATION from Matt Hooper on Vimeo.

Obviously it would be crass for the White House to operate on the same level as College Humor. However, it would be exciting to see the ground-breaking Obama new media team make an effort to push the boundaries in this realm of their strategy.

Of course, the onus is also on members of the generation to embrace our entrepreneurial spirit and initiate from within the types of communications that will further our issues. We can't expect hand-holding from our fearless leaders, especially when we are often the experts in these emerging mediums.

 

Follow Maegan Carberry on Twitter: www.twitter.com/maegancarberry

Comments

[shel3364]

Everybody seems to have their knickers in a twist about the gubernatorial races, but as I understand it, they've voted opposite the white house everytime since the early 80's. This isn't a referendum, its a trend.

[Sardonica]

Maybe Jon's just not aware that it was his responsibility to whip the kids into shape. Did anyone inform him?

[FilthyHarry]

I would submit that ALL television news is infotainment these days. The difference between all of them and Jon Stewart is that they provide very little actual info or entertainment, whereas Jon Stewart provides a lot of both.

[writerjohnny]

"It's been up to Jon Stewart"? Talk about catastrophic nonsense. It's ALWAYS up to the masses of people to make change and a guy who makes his living making jokes about EVERYONE is NOT a leader of social change. Democrats, Republicans, Neocons and Progessives - if you support Capitlaism and the international exploitation of workers then you aren't for ANY type of change.

[Alethea]

Actually, rather than relying on infotainment to bolster the progressive movement, I think the people we elected based on a message of change actually need to get out there and do some changing. None of this half way compromise cr.ap. We wanted some real honest-to-goodness change.

Let me put it this way, if us young people put all that emotional, monetary and time consuming effort into getting Obama elected only to not get anything in return....­.......... we won't do it a second time.

As some older people have already blamed us for ADHD American Idol addicts, the reality is that we are not stupid or superficial. We voted for change and, lo and behold, we actuallly expected it.

The Dems seriously need to think about before they sell out to the corporate interests yet AGAIN.

[jwervel16]

"...the reality is that we are not stupid or superficia­l."

Oh, yes we are. We just feel smart because we can access anything at any given time on our laptops and regurgitate what Jon says on a daily bass. But let's be honest -- we don't really know a damn meaningful thing about any of it!

[Alethea]

Speak for yourself.

[jan4insight]

News flash: You are supposed to work as hard for change AFTER the election as you did before it.

[Alethea]

True. And I completely understand that. Regardless of my annoyance, I continue to contribute to people who I think will do the right thing (even though I can't really afford it), I also continue to call my congress people and the White house on a regular basis.

But look, I've already used up a good chunk of my vacation volunteering to get Obama elected in the first place. Going downtown and protesting just isn't realistic right now if they fall on the weekdays (which they usually do for some stu.pid reason).

I guess what bothers me is that we gave these people a JOB to do and they aren't doing it. If that were me, I'd get fired. Why should we have to constantly threaten the people we elected with the doom of the apocalypse when they were supposed to be on OUR side? That kind of constant negative reinforcement is really exhausting.

[PopeRatzo]

You thought that just because the Dems nominated a black man for president that they weren't sold out to corporate interests?

I'd like to know one time in our lifetime when the Democratic Party was NOT sold out to corporate interests.

[Alethea]

Obama being a black man has absolutly nothing to do with this.

I want to see results for all the investment I put into them. Pure and simple.

[paranoid70]

So how exactly did Jon Stewart kill 'Barackstar' ?

[jan4insight]

This headline is part of H P's new meme, and heaven help anyone who challenges it!

[Alex Gertner]

Here at Princeton University, students are actively struggling with whether it's possible to work in a socially responsible but also, let's be honest, profitable way. Many companies are sensitive to this and are already making (often misleading) cases that they contribute to the social wellbeing through their recruitment efforts. I commend the members of this panel, particularly Matt and Michael, for trying to create a cultural space for honest, socially conscious work through info-tainment, showing that it's exciting and engaging. Our generation needs to see this, to know it's possible and to be inspired to participate. GoCause!