WASHINGTON, January 16 (Sputnik) — US President Barack Obama’s decision to have YouTube creators interview him two days after the live broadcast of the State of the Union Address is part of a communications strategy to include more US citizens to better understand his priorities, White House spokesperson Josh Earnest said during a press briefing on Thursday.
“This is part of an integrated communications strategy to make sure that the American people understand exactly what the president's fighting for in Washington, DC," Earnest said. “We consider this to be a unique and interesting way for the president [Obama] to discuss some of the priorities that he'll talk about in the State of the Union."
Popular YouTube personalities will interview President Obama about “the top concerns facing them and their audiences,” including jobs and immigration, according Google’s News Lab Director Steve Grove in a blog post on Thursday.
The YouTube personality moderators will also let viewers share questions with them for President Obama that they will select to ask during the interview.
“I think the president [Obama] is trying to put his ideas in front of as many people as he can,” Earnest said. “And if he can go to an interesting venue where he may be able to attract the attention of some people that didn’t tune in to the State of the Union Address…then we certainly would welcome the opportunity to do that."
President Obama’s January 20th State of the Union Address will follow similar interview on YouTube Google Hangout, Facebook and Reddit in order to reach a wider audience. The State of the Union speech is an annual address by the US president to the US Congress reporting on the condition of the United States and the president’s legislative agenda.
