MICHAEL STEELE ELECTED TO LEAD THE RNC

MEMBERS OF THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE HAVE CHOSEN MICHAEL STEELE (Fmr. MD Lt. Gov.) AS CHAIRMAN. HISTORIC MOMENT, FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN TO LEAD THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE.

GOOD FOR THEM. RIGHT MAN FOR THE TIMES.

Internet Technology in the Obama Age: Helping People Change Government

This past Monday (Jan. 26th) I hosted a terrific panel event for the Johns Hopkins University Internet and Mobile Communication Project. The event titled "Internet Technology in the Obama Age: Helping People Change Government" was held at the JHU campus in Washington, DC and featured the following speakers:

• Joe Trippi - Joe Trippi and Associates
• Jose Antonio Vargas - The Washington Post
• Adam Conner - Facebook's Washington DC Associate for Privacy and Global Public Policy
• Greg Elin - Chief Evangelist, Sunlight Foundation

We're working on getting the video from the entire event online. And I'll embed the video when it's available.

In the meantime, here is a flash presentation with photos from the event. You may also view them on Flickr here.

TV One Nears 5 Year Anniversary, Coverage of Inauguration

It's a pretty amazing accomplishment. TV One, the all-cable TV network aimed at the African American population, is nearing it's 5 year anniversary. The students in my ethnic marketing and political communication course at Johns Hopkins University 5 years ago were really excited about this new network and I think it has lived up to a lot of expectations my students shared - most obvious among them was that TV One be a true alternative to BET offering much more programming for people and age-groups uninterested in BET's programming.

The Associated Press has an informative article on the wire now about how TV One and BET are planning to cover the inauguration next month of the first African American President of the United States.

Both are planning extensive coverage for Jan. 20, when Barack Obama is sworn in as the nation's 44th president. While it will be followed as a news event, network executives said the installation of the first black president will be as much a celebration as a story.

Multichannel News appears to have reported on the BET and TV One inauguration plans first.

While final programming lineups were still being finalized at press time, executives from both networks say they're planning unprecedented, around-the-clock coverage of the day-long festivities surrounding the Jan. 20 swearing in of Barack Obama as the nation's 44th and first African-American president.

Washington D.C.-based BET will air a live, four-hour block of ceremonies coverage beginning at noon, according to senior vice president of news and public affairs Keith Brown. In addition, the network will offer primetime, post-inauguration coverage, as well as an inauguration special as part of its popular music-video show 106 & Park.

Also of note, TV One recently announced it's HD channel.

NBC Nightly News and Today Show Carry National Menorah

The 2050 Group promoted the National Menorah Lighting in Washington, DC for the third year running. And delivered spectacular results. The event was carried on the NBC Nightly News last night and this morning the event was placed onto NBC's Today Show, the best rated national network morning program in America. It also landed on hundreds of TV stations, news websites and in newspapers across the nation.

Here's the entire NBC Nightly News broadcast. See last segment:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

And here's the entire NBC Today show program including the segment with the menorah lighting:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Here's a clip from last night's event from CBS News. The menorah was lit by White House Chief of Staff Joshua B. Bolten and Rabbis Abraham Shemtov, Levi Shemtov and Nachman Holtzberg:

WKRG.com

Ahhh the memories. Here's a flashback to National Menorah 2006 lit with honored guest Ambassador Susan C. Schwab the United States Trade Representative:

WebMD Magazine Names Jane Delgado 2008 Health Hero

WebMD Magazine announced the 2008 WebMD Health Heroes awards today. Pick a copy of the November/December issue of WebMD the Magazine and you'll see it includes a full-page profile of Jane L. Delgado, the president and CEO of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health for her vision and drive to inspire others to action.

Hispanic Health Pioneer Empowers Urban Children to Clean Up Their Environment

Jane L. Delgado, Ph.D., launched a program for children who live in urban areas called the Health and Environment Action Network. Dr. Delgado's goal is to help clean up some of the nation's dirtiest cities, to give children in these areas a better future. Her program, which launched in 2007, distributes mobile environmental monitors to children in cities including Detroit and Brooklyn. The children use the devices to track area pollutants and the information is reported online at HEANaction.org. Dr. Delgado is also the director of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health in Washington, DC, where she heads up programs to improve the health of Latino youths and families across the country.

Hispanics Have Huge Impact

Newsweek:

Hispanic voters didn't just leave their mark on this year's presidential election. They decided it. Four states with sizable Hispanic populations that went for Bush in 2004—Florida, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada—all turned blue this time around, adding 46 crucial electoral votes to the Democratic candidate's winning tally.

Miami Herald:

Obama is first Democrat to win Florida's Hispanic vote.

OBAMA BLOWOUT - TWO-THIRDS OF HISPANICS VOTED FOR OBAMA

According to the CNN Exit Poll: "Two-thirds of Latino voters nationwide voted for Barack Obama, while 30 percent picked John McCain. In 2004, President Bush captured 40 percent of the Latino vote."

Obama at 78% Support Among Latinos

Reuters story out this AM shows Obama reaching his own record-high level of support among Hispanics. Florida, Nevada, New Mexico and Colorado will be impacted by this if the numbers are correct.

The Univision/Reuters/Zogby poll released on Tuesday said that 78 percent of a sample of 1,016 Latino likely voters favored Sen. Obama, with 13 percent supporting McCain, an Arizona senator.

The poll, which was conducted between October 30 and November 2, found that 54 percent of respondents said the economy and jobs were the most important issue in deciding who to vote for, followed by health care and immigration, with 12 percent and 11 percent respectively.

RNC Ad - Tormeta

Obama and McCain to be Profiled on Univision's Sabado Gigante

Presidential candidates and Senators Obama and McCain will be profiled and will appear, in pre-taped interviews, on Univision's Sabado Gigante this Saturday, November 1st. Further evidence of increasingly aggressive Hispanic outreach efforts in the closing days of the campaign. Here's the announcement in Spanish.

Obama Leading 69-25 Among Hispanics

CNN's John King says Obama leads among Hispanic voters 69-25 and that they have pushed Nevada in solid Democrat column.

Hispanic Democrats Outnumber Hispanic Republicans in Florida for First Time

The just found it's way into my in-box:

The Pew Hispanic Center today released a fact sheet about Hispanic registered voters in Florida. Final 2008 general election voter registration figures from Florida, along with recent data from the U.S. Census, show significant changes in both the political leanings and the demographics of Latinos in the electoral-rich Sunshine State. This year more Hispanics in Florida are registered as Democrats (513,252) than as Republicans (445,526). As recently as 2006, the reverse was true: among Latino registered voters in Florida, more were Republican (414,185) than Democratic (369,906).

Do we need any more evidence that Hispanic political demographics have undergone enormous shifts?

Miami Herald Reports on Obama's Spanish-language TV Strategy, Quotes Adam J. Segal

I'm quoted in a Miami Herald article by reporter Casey Woods about Obama's Spanish-language TV strategy reaching out to Hispanic voters. A similar version of the piece offered up to McClatchy newspapers cites my research with the Hispanic Voter Project at Johns Hopkins University.

Not sure how I missed this. Obama's half hour commercial is also going to run on BET and TV One, two cable channels that reach critical supporters in the African American communities nationwide.

Obama Leading McCain 61 to 29 Among Hispanic Voters

According to the Gallup Poll, Obama leads McCain among Hispanic voters 61% to 29%.

I think this is actually a slightly conservative estimate. But we'll know more in just one more week. Though I caution, the national exit polls don't always reflect Hispanic vote share correctly and may be upgraded or downgraded within hours, days or weeks as occurred in 2004 when NBC News downgraded Bush's share of the Latino vote from 44% reported on Election Day to 40% after further analysis.

Here's another new Obama ad, "Rising Above," running on Spanish-language television:

Astonishing: Univision Poised to Nearly Double Political Ad Spending Receipts

Wow. Given the shocking amounts of money (record-breaking) poured in political TV advertising this is not without context. But I find this prediction, that Univision will have nearly doubled political ad spending receipts.

"Univision Communications, the media giant with two broadcast networks, a Web portal and multiple radio stations, expects to sell as much as $20 million in political ads during the second half of 2008 and around $37 million for the entire year, Chief Financial Officer Andrew Hobson told investors in a second-quarter conference call. During the previous presidential election cycle, Univision garnered $16.2 million worth of political ads."

According to USA Today, the AFL-CIO has Spanish-language radio ads on the air.

National Journal reported on a Spanish-language radio ad the Obama campaign has been running.

New Obama Ad, Plan for 30 Minute Ad on Univision Network

Obama ad released today - candidate speaks in Spanish during the entire 30 second spot, wow

Also today... the Obama campaign announced half-hour network ad on Univision. Here's the Washington Post's Ed O'Keefe: The "Barack Obama campaign will air a Spanish-language version of its 30-minute infomercial on Wednesday night on Univision, the highest-rated Spanish language television network."



Did he really? Obama says McCain's attacks are "loco."

Maybe a reference to McCain attacks in Spanish brochure for "serious Christians."

Recent Spanish-Language TV Ads from the Presidential Candidates

Recent positive Obama ad "Opportunidad" and get out the vote (GOTV) video aimed at Latino voters in Nevada





McCain's latest Spanish-language TV attack/negative ads "Riesgo" (Risk) and below that is "Fraudulent"





And a negative "documentary" web video asking Latinos of Chicago "Where is Obama?"



And previously, Obama's negative/attack ads "Dos Caras" (a repost on this blog) and "No Hay Mayor Obligacion" which ran in Florida, New Mexico, Nevada and Colorado

OBAMA HITS BACK AT MCCAIN ON IMMIGRATION, IN SPANISH

The Washington Post has an extensive report on this new spot and the context.

McCain's Latest Spanish-Language TV/Web Spot Slams Obama on Immigration

The Washington Post reports on the McCain immigration ad here.

Wow. The New York Times Editorial Board asks: What’s Spanish for “Lies”?. The Times says the McCain spot is "fraudulent."

Meanwhile, I'm quoted in recent stories about Hispanic outreach by the presidential campaigns including today's edition of the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the Las Vegas Sun from Sunday.

Minority Media and Convention Coverage

The New York Times has a lengthy piece on how minority media organizations and foreign media have been covering the presidential conventions.