Podcasting for the Democrats' Future (Washington Post)

[PanettaMike]

This was in the Washington Post a few weeks ago. You can hear the podcasts at http://www.changetheparty.com

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(Washington Post, Page A2, January 17, 2005)

Podcasting for the Democrats' Future

Blogs are so 2004. This year, the cutting-edge candidate podcasts.

Donnie Fowler, one of a half-dozen politicos vying to succeed Democratic National Committee Chairman Terence R. McAuliffe, last week became the first candidate to dip his toe into the obscure world of podcasting.

The term refers to the increasingly popular practice of creating audio recordings of, well, most anything and distributing them online. Scores of podcasters, often using little more than a computer and a microphone, have posted recordings of themselves discussing everything from the news to insects to the Bible. It is, essentially, amateur radio without the radio. Their files can be found on Web sites such as Podcast.net or iPodder.org, where they can be heard or downloaded onto digital audio players such as Apple's iPod.

But until recently, all of that has been the exclusive province of tech geeks. Fowler, who released a seven-minute clip promoting his candidacy -- and who plans to release new ones each week -- said it is just one more way to reach supporters. "Different voters get their political information and cues from different sources," he said. "The Democratic Party needs to talk to voters where they are."

Although few of the 447 DNC members who will vote next month on McAuliffe's successor may download Fowler's podcasts, he said the podcasts demonstrate that he would be a tech-friendly chair. And who knows? Maybe, he said, podcasts will be the next blogs, the hot new Web tool for campaigns.

"It's sort of like what blogging was two years ago," Fowler said. "The earlier Democrats get in on the new avenues, the better they're going to be able to master them."