Temporary Item: Jose Antonio Vargas Story

Jose Antonio Vargas Interview

He may be the only journalist to have analyzed to such extent the use of technology in the latest election, because his stories all focus on the relationship between politics and the Internet. Jose Antonio Vargas is a reporter for the Washington Post, and may be one of the first journalists to cover the up-and-coming topic of Internet communications and our government.

Lately, Vargas has put out many pieces regarding the Obama administration and the new and innovative ways our president is connecting with U.S. citizens. “[Everything] is going to operate through Whitehouse.gov,” Vargas explained on Thursday, January 29 to CSPAN-3’s “Distance Learning” program. “One of the things they are trying to do is to create a level of engagement…and to have a discussion [among citizens] about certain issues and topics.”

According to Vargas, had Obama not utilized the Internet in the way he did during his campaign, he may not have been elected. Vargas explained that through websites such as MoveOn.org gave supporters a feeling of inclusion in the government process, unlike the traditional approach to campaigns where candidates attack one another constantly. “[Their approach was not to be used] to attack one another, but to be more issue oriented,” Vargas said.

One of the biggest changes to come with this new presidency is the transparency level on Whitehouse.gov. George Mason University student Lauren Jost was impressed by the amount of interaction and up-to-date news the new website provides. “My favorite part of the website is the ‘Weekly Address’ that President Obama gives every Saturday morning to update us on the latest issues,” Jost explained. “It’s a great feeling knowing that our president wants us to be aware and up to date with the happenings in our world.”

The success secured under Obama’s online campaigning seems to have inspired all the branches of government to become more connected with U.S. citizens. Members of the House and Senate have started their own YouTube pages in hopes of informing the people about issues and topics of importance. However, Vargas believes that rather than simply informing the public, politicians should use these websites as platforms for discussion. “I’ve watched some of these congress members, senate members and house members’ YouTubes, and I think many of them think this is a broadcast TV model as opposed to sparking some actual dialogue,” he noted.

Although our president may be advancing as far as technology is concerned, many politicians seem to accustom to outdated ways of communication. Vargas explained “politicians are in the Britannica Encyclopedia [thought-process], while the rest of us are in Wikipedia.” Especially when it comes to the conservatives in our government, they have a lot of catching up to do. “McCain ran a no-frills campaign,” Vargas said. He went on to explain that by not utilizing such social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, the republican party may have lost crucial votes.

Whatever the current situation may be, it seems that things are only progressing in the online world of communication. Since the internet is rapidly climbing to the top of the news food-chain, it is imperative that our government utilize all that they can to keep us informed and stay away from the attack methods of campaigning. “On Google, everyone is equal,” Vargas explained, “and it is up to us to distinguish fact from rumor.”