By By Lana Lagomarsini, News Correspondent

YouTube isn’t just for watching old Nickelodeon shows and random music videos anymore.
President Barack Obama’s officials at the White House are planning to turn his strong online campaign prior to his election into a constant force during his presidency, according to The New York Times’ website.
As a way to keep supporters involved, officials at the White House have created Organizing for America, a group targeting the Internet as a tool to stay connected with the public. The cornerstone of their strategy for the group is to broadcast President Obama’s weekly address to the nation not only in the traditional channel of radio, but also to make it available through the Internet viewing sensation YouTube.
Dan Kennedy, assistant professor at the School of Journalism, said he believes Obama’s YouTube addresses are the result of the inevitable changes in media.
‘Every politician takes advantage of the technological tools of the time,’ he said.
The new form of addressing the public is reminiscent of FDR’s fireside chats, with better technology, Kennedy said.
‘The impulse to reach the public is the same, just the technology changes,’ Kennedy said.
Although Organizing for America has not begun fundraising and does not yet have a website, the hope is to have the addresses available through the White House channel on YouTube, in an effort to build public opinion, said David Plouffe, Obama’s campaign manager, to The Times.
Kelsi O’Connor, a freshman behavioral neuroscience major, said that something as easily accessible as an Internet video will keep more people informed, and keep Obama in good graces.
‘I think that using a form of media that is more popular will definitely help to get his messages across,’ O’Connor said.
Bill Kovach, chairman of the Committee of Concerned Journalists, told The Times website he believes the Obama administration is ‘trying to create their own journalism,’ and bypassing more traditional media outlets and personnel.
‘He’s only going to be able to [bypass media outlets] a, little bit,’ Kennedy said.
The administration is still allowing the media to be subjective because there are still many websites that still use the news media, Kennedy said.
The addresses are not meant to have a great deal of political influence, but to give the White House another way to reach the public without relying on mainstream media, said Macon Phillips, the ‘new media’ director for the administration, in a Jan. 25 Times article.
‘I’m not sure I’d tune in to watch the weekly addresses on television, but knowing that they would be on YouTube, I’d be more likely to find and watch them,’ O’Connor said.
Obama isn’t necessarily taking advantage of the problems in the media, but taking advantage of the technology of the time, in his presidency as well as his campaign in the presidential race, Kennedy said.
The Organizing for America project is headed by his campaign manager for the election, David Plouffe.
Khalid Lum, a sophomore political science and international affairs major, said he believes Obama’s turn to YouTube is an effective strategy to reach more people.
‘People who don’t listen to the radio or watch TV for his addresses will benefit,’ Lum said.
Despite doubts on how the YouTube addresses will affect the traditional media world, the Internet makes it easier to get information and maintain scrutiny of the president.’ Mainstream media, though, still remains a stronghold, Kennedy said.
‘The important role the media plays on scrutinizing the president will not go away,’ Kennedy said.