Felix Gillette, in an article in The New York Observer tells an interesting tale of Google’s efforts to have the Internet, rather than just television, play a significant role in the upcoming presidential debates, making an end-run around the Commission on Presidential Debates, which has held tightly on to its monopoly power over the presidential debates up until now.
It seems that Google has hired Bob Boorstin, a former speechwriter in the Clinton White House, as a communications executive (whatever that means), and Boorstin, who knows his way around Washington, hasarranged for Google to team up with the New Orleans Consortium, which was dissed by the Commission as one of four sites for the presidential debates after being considered a “sure thing,” in an end-run around the Commission. While the Commission seems grudgingly committed to some recognition of the Internet (with a tentative commitment to include some “webby” feature in one of the four debates), it made no mention of Google in any of its announcements, apparently prompting Google to take matters into its own hands.
It will be interesting to watch and see if the two presidential candidates will agree to participate in the forum in New Orleans, and if so, whether Google goes it alone or teams up with one of the major networks. One unnamed source identified only as a TV News executive said that any network, including his own, would “jump at the opportunity to co-host the debate with ‘Google & Co.’ “.
Filed under: Google Tagged: | Barak Obama, Bob Boorstin, Commission on Presidential Debates, Google, John McCain, New Orleans, Presidential Debates, The New York Observer, TV News, YouTube
