New C-SPAN channel on YouTube

Posted by Steve Grove, Head of News and Politics, YouTube

As the 2008 election progresses, more and more voters are tuning into YouTube to stay on top of the action. Our You Choose '08 platform now features content from candidates, news organizations, and voters, and we've made it easier than ever to see where the candidates stand on each of the major issues in this election. The next big stop on the campaign trail is Pennsylvania, so we're partnering with C-SPAN to collect videos from voters across the country who will answer the question, "What is the most important issue to you in this election?"



This is our fourth voter video program. We started in Iowa, went on to New Hampshire, and then went national on Super Tuesday. With C-SPAN, we're adding a new twist: in the week leading up to the Pennsylvania primaries on April 22, we'll be on the C-SPAN election bus throughout the state, collecting videos straight from the campaign trail.

We think C-SPAN is the perfect partner for this program. Started in 1979, C-SPAN is a private nonprofit whose mission is to "provide public access to the political process." That mission is closely aligned with our own: to connect voters and candidates through the power of online video. In a way, YouTube politics has given voters everywhere the opportunity to create their own "C-SPANs" and make the election all the more transparent and accessible to voters everywhere. And that's a fundamentally good thing. So tune into C-SPAN's YouTube channel in the coming days to check out the videos we're getting from voters -- and to submit your own.