White House New Media and Ghana

Yes, President Obama is using all tools to communicate everywhere. It's obvious but not every politician has done it at quite this scale so effectively.

Macon Phillips is Obama's new media director, and I got to photograph him and videotape him for VOA, even though time was short, and speed is not yet my forte in filming.

This was my first time inside the "White House", even though this was just next to the White House, in the Eisenhower building.

I was impressed by the building's black, white marble halls, and imagined playing some sort of hockey on these, and by the earnest work being done in barely lit offices, by a very studious and young crowd of clean cuts, with dark, red, blue and white color dress. Phillips did have nice suspenders with slight color, and apparently knows what he's doing.

I asked whether there was a risk of an Internet cult of personality, but I think that's more of an organic artist phenomenon so far, and to be fair, the White House seems to have extensive, neutral, government-like, professional delivery in its new media content.

Compliments to Julia Ritchey for the collaboration, and to Kari Barber for the archive Africa footage, as well as to Scott Stearns who contributed the nice, new Ghana shots.