"The public is clearly part of the news process now (and if you've seen the comment section at KnoxNews that should terrify you)" and the news is, EIGHT percent of Americans believe that their members of Congress deserve reelection. However, envision a very near future where politicians will always, maybe, almost tell the truth because they can't hide in front of the cameras anymore, and the ninety-two percent of us that are reasonable people won't live in a scary and unfair world in which government is some mysterious creature living up in the hills that only comes down for feeding time because we finally decided to get together to go to those hills and see how ugly that creature's balls were, and found ourselves.

I really want you to click those two links above about how television changed the physical properties of politics and what you're about to do to those people next. Do it before clicking "continued..." as most of the links after the break are there primarily for my own amusement, except this one.

What we were doing during the Sunlight Live coverage was pushing data out to the public to inform them while simultaneously interfering with the canned messaging of the political actors by showing the facts and information that lives behind their words and actions.(*1) My colleague Kerry Mitchell calls this “data jamming,” a la “culture jamming.”

And this is where C-SPAN’s coverage provides a useful service. With the help of online communications, C-SPAN’s raw coverage allows for the viewer to interact, undercut and interfere with the messaging coming from politicians(**2) while the video is streaming live. Senator Lamar Alexander can quote from a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) document and President Obama can argue back about the facts of the CBO report. That’s all you’ll get on television. But,

continued...
with researchers and reporters manning the desk at Sunlight Live we could pull the CBO report up almost instantly and search for analysis of the very point of disagreement between Alexander and Obama. You don’t have to wait to find out who’s wrong, you can know during the event. Other data helps explain the motivations or biases that lawmakers may have. Links to lobbyists, campaign contributions from interested parties, biographical information, previous news stories about their involvement in the health care reform process. All of this helps to disrupt the pre-packaged image that politicians want to transmit to the audience, which is mega-phoned through the television media.(***3)

(*1) "interfering with the canned messaging of the political actors by showing the facts and information that lives behind their words and actions."?
Yes, for shizzle. Ya wanna bitch or be the revolution?
(**2) "interact, undercut and interfere with the messaging coming from politicians"?
I'm pretty sure he meant that as well and might be dangerous. Ya wanna rollerskate all night or go home and get it on?
(***3) " disrupt the pre-packaged image that politicians want to transmit to the audience, which is mega-phoned through the television media"?
In the exuberant and youthful words of Kyle Broflovski, that's fucking sweet.
P.S. Tea is for ninnies. Consider rebranding.
elemental, terrifying?
Sunshine Week 2010 begins the ides of March. look out!
"You Can't Do That on Television"

In one episode in which the studio has been taken over by Communists, uttering the word "freedom" would send a cascade of red slime pouring over whoever said it.