Journalism Day

The panel I was fortunate enough to attend on Wednesday was called Widening the Net: Political Campaigning and New Technologies. The gist of the discussion was how political candidates utilized alternative methods to combat opponents.

Rosemary Palmer and Anthony Fossaceca opened the panel with a review of Palmer's 2008 campaign for congress, which began as an idea when she lost a son to the Iraq war.

Palmer knew her political experience would be critiqued from the get-go because her only previous experience was at a local office in New Jersey. This put her at a serious disadvantage, especially against incumbent Dennis Kucinich.

But Palmer and Fossaceca had an idea that seems to match the slogan, "go big or go home." The Palmer campaign went for Kucinich and held nothing back. They ran campaign ads similar to the one below (*this part amended thanks to Fossaceca's comment below).

Kucinich campaign



It was this ad and others like this that brought attention to the previously unknown candidate. She became a name among bloggers-- a sign you really know you've made it big. Fossaceca also said that soon after donations-- small, but frequent-- entered the picture and Palmer became a player in the campaign.

They had money to create devices like this...
Bus video


But what is even more notable about the Palmer campaign is she allowed her constituents to guide her. Using You Tube and the Web she listed two potential Super Bowl advertisements and asked for users to vote for a favorite. She then wrote that if a few thousand donated only $5 each, the ad could potentially run during the Super Bowl.

Palmer didn't acquire the amount she needed for a spot during the football game, but her innovation did get picked up by television media and they ended up broadcasting the winning video.
Super Bowl Ad #1


Palmer lost the congressional campaign by a few votes, but in her mind she perceived the campaign as a victory. She is now known as the "Internet candidate" for the techniques she used and the precedent she set.