WASHINGTON, November 14 – US president-elect Barack Obama is to make the first YouTube address to the nation on Saturday, recording a talk not just on radio but also on video, a spokesman said Friday.
"President-elect Obama will record the Weekly Democratic Radio Address on video and radio," spokesman Nick Shapiro said.
"The address will be turned into a YouTube video which we will post on www.change.gov," the official website of the Obama transition team, he said.
"No president-elect or president has ever turned the radio address into a multi-media opportunity before," Shapiro added.
"This is just one of many ways that president-elect Obama will communicate directly with the American people and make the White House and the political process more transparent," he said.
US presidents have made weekly addresses to the nation by radio for years with the party in opposition delivering a response afterwards.
Shapiro said Obama will continue to use video for the weekly addresses after he takes office on January 20.
"President-elect Obama will continue to record and make available the Democratic radio addresses on video when he is in the White House," he said.
Obama relied heavily on the Internet during his successful campaign for the Democratic nomination and the presidency, organizing volunteers and pulling in large amounts of money through online fund-raising.
The Washington Post on Friday quoted transition officials as saying that senior members of the transition team, policy experts and Cabinet selections would also be recording videos to be posted on Change.gov.
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