In a broadcasting first, US president-elect Barack Obama has announced his intention to deliver his weekly address to the nation via online video as well as radio.
As a further display of the new administration’s willingness to embrace new technologies to communicate with the US people, Obama’s weekly speech will be posted to YouTube.
The president-elect's first YouTube address will be broadcast tomorrow (15th November).
"The address will be turned into a YouTube video which we will post on www.change.gov," comments spokesman Nick Shapiro. "No president-elect or president has ever turned the radio address into a multi-media opportunity before."
Shapiro adds: "This is just one of many ways that president-elect Obama will communicate directly with the American people and make the White House and the political process more transparent," he said.
Shapiro noted that Obama will continue to use video for the weekly addresses after he takes office on January 20.
The tradition of the president addressing the public via radio dates back to President Franklin Roosevelt's 'fireside chats' in the 1930s.
