(image found on WashingtonTimes)Joining the ranks of other famous people in the public eye, President Obama, The Pope, The Queen of England and now Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago. It was just a matter of time until Mayor Daley got his spot on YouTube. The good thing is with Chicago being a democratic city that has options for a new mayor every 4 years. This spot gives Mayor Daley a chance to speak and be heard by the masses.
This site is an opportunity to talk to residents directly,” he said, noting YouTube’s wide reach.
Daley made the announcement at the Loop headquarters of Google Chicago, his partner in creating and running the site. It will promote Chicago across the globe, the mayor said.
“I guess it promotes me,” he added later, when asked about the political edge the site might provide. “Yes, I’m the mayor of the City of Chicago, and it promotes Chicago."
Asked whether the site would include videos that were critical of him, he responded, “We’ll see, I don’t know yet.”
Some of the 23 videos on the site, www.youtube.com/mayordaley, feature Daley meeting with out-of-town dignitaries and business leaders. In one, he jokes around in his office with local personality Billy Dec, co-host of NBC’s “24/7 Chicago: Secrets of the City.”
In another, a pre-election Barack Obama praises the mayor.
Obama talks about the improvements in the city since he moved there in 1985, saying they show “astonishing leadership that this man has shown over two decades. . . . He is an outstanding mayor.”
Not to be seen were any of the mayor's well-known tongue-twisters or testy exchanges with the media.
Since President Bill Clinton first held televised town hall meetings, contemporary politicians have ought new ways to bypass the often-critical coverage of the mainstream media and speak directly to voters.
When asked if he was trying to do the same, Daley said he is the only public official in Illinois to hold “a press conference three or four times a week.”
Jim Lecinski, managing director of Google’s central region, said no taxpayer dollars were used to create the site, and Daley said it did not involve spending taxpayer funds.
But some of the videos up on the site were made with city money for the Chicago Works cable TV channels. They were originally produced to be aired on the city’s municipal access channel, not for the mayor’s Web site, said Jacquelyn Heard, the mayor’s press secretary."
I was beginning to wonder when it would happen. I think its actually a very great idea for all people in the public eye to have a spot on YouTube for people to hear what they have to say. We live in a time now where we just don't have the time to put a mic under every single person and then somehow find a schedule for everyone to see what they have to say.With having a YouTube Channel, people can make statements and also answer questions on their time and then giving the public on their time a chance to see what they have to say. The other thing is it gives them an option to hear peoples remarks and also reply back to them in either written or video blog form. Also, they did a great job on the site design too. Looks Great.
Daley has a YouTube channel (Chicago Tribune)
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