Programmed by the People: The Intersection of Political Communication and the YouTube Generation.

Communication technologies are changing how citizens participate in political public discourse. This research considers one of the most recent ways citizens are able to enter into political conversations on the Internet-through video-sharing websites. Specifically this paper uses qualitative methods to identify genres of political videos on YouTube. The second stage of the research turns to quantitative methods to illustrate how political bloggers link to and essentially use YouTube as part of its political discourse. The research shows that bloggers still tend to link to content produced mainly by mainstream media. That said, the research offers new ways to think about citizens as gatekeepers of online poltiical content. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]