Video Voter

Democracy on Demand was comprised of a series of interviews with a bipartisan group of California State Senators and Assembly Members. Working with California’s major cable companies - Comcast, Time Warner, Charter, Cox, and their media buying partner NCC (National Cable Communications) - Democracy on Demand harnessed the power of cable television’s Video-On-Demand Technology (VOD) to educate Californians about important policy issues and create a better understanding of how VOD may impact the future of voter information.

To launch this important 'experiment in democracy', Video Voter worked with the cable company's political advisor Sam Rodriguez and the California Channel to produce 5 minute interviews with California State Senate and Assembly Members. The interviews, hosted by Rosenfeld, offered elected officials to the opportunity to speak to Californians about their work without having to limit themselves to the 10-second sound bite limitations of most news programs. Instead, Democracy on Demand interviews allowed for in-depth conversations about issues affecting Californians.

What is remarkable about Democracy on Demand is not just that if offers an unprecedented opportunity for Californians to find out about policy issues, but also that California Cable companies aggressively promoted Democracy on Demand during popular shows such as Major League Baseball. This is in sharp contrast to many other public service programs that, while created with the best intentions, are often "narrow-casted" or relegated to obscure cable stations. By promoting Democracy on Demand during popular television programming, we sent the message that policy issues are important and relevant.

Democracy on Demand was a prototype concerned with how VOD programming fits within the political information paradigm. VOD systems allow users to select and watch video content over a network as part of an interactive television system. The internet is now a proven venue for political information, and VOD, with its on demand and customizable nature could prove to be a powerful tool in the years to come. Video Voter, by partnering with California cable companies, was able to explore the statistics surrounding how many people watch political information programming, when and for how long, and from what channel did they arrive to VOD.

Click to view DemocracyOnDemand.tv.