How to watch the 2016 State of the Union online
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This year, President Obama鈥檚 final State of the Union address will have a newer, tech-ier feel, in keeping with how Americans watch media and debate a range of issues online.
Amazon is partnering with the White House to make the speech available to聽watch live and on-demand through its Instant Video service, in addition to on the White House鈥檚 site and YouTube channel, the administration said this week. As usual, it's also available on broadcast and cable networks and begins at 9 p.m. Eastern.
Noting that the State of the Union has an unusual history 鈥 it by Thomas Jefferson in 1801 in favor of a report to Congress and resurrected in 1913 by Woodrow Wilson 鈥 the administration said a key goal for this year was to 鈥渕eet people where they are鈥 by making the speech available in a variety of formats.
鈥淚n this day and age, that starts by recognizing that even people following on two screens don鈥檛 just flip back and forth between a TV and a smartphone. We jump from different social media platforms鈥娾斺奱nd we have shifting assumptions about the type of experience we鈥檒l have on each,鈥 wrote Jason Goldman, the White House鈥檚 chief digital officer, in .
The partnership鈥檚 goal of specifically addressing 鈥渃ord-cutters鈥 who have abandoned broadcast and cable TV is particularly timely. It comes several months after only one of the first three presidential debates this fall were , drawing ire from viewers.
The White House 鈥 which Mr. Goldman noted hadn鈥檛 even sent a tweet when Mr. Obama first addressed Congress in 2009聽鈥 has also beefed up its social media presence. It unveiled a new Snapchat account on Monday, with the first story showing preparations for the speech, in a bid to get the attention of the service鈥檚 large share of viewers between 18 and 24.
For political junkies聽鈥 and other people interested in dissecting or debating the speech line-by-line 鈥 the president鈥檚 address will also be posted on the lyrics annotation site Genius (formerly Rap Genius). Previous speeches, dating back to the president鈥檚 2009 joint address to Congress .
But unlike the site鈥檚 take on lyrics, the annotations are written by White House staffers. Genius users will also be invited to contribute and some of their reactions may be highlighted, Mr. Goldman noted.
Given the potential for criticism of the president for not living up to his stated goals in an increasingly harsh political climate, some of the annotations in previous speeches seem to reflect the administration鈥檚 talking points or downplay certain issues.
For example, during last year鈥檚 address Mr. Obama said of the controversial prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, 鈥淚 to shut it down. It is not who we are. It鈥檚 time to close Gitmo.鈥 The resulting annotation, writing three days ago, notes that when the president took office, there were 242 detainees, while there are today 104, but continues with a more boilerplate response: 鈥淭he Administration continues to work diligently on completing the plan to safely and responsibly close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay.鈥
Reportedly, the speech may also tackle some controversial tech-related issues, including efforts to curb social media posts and other online content by extremist groups. During a speech just after the shootings in San Bernadino, Calif., Obama with tech companies to聽 鈥渕ake it harder for terrorists to use technology to escape from justice.鈥
That was the topic of a meeting White House officials had with tech leaders from Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft and other companies in San Jose, Calif., last week. Microsoft鈥檚 head, Satya Nadella, is an invited guest for Tuesday鈥檚 address, with a highlighting efforts by the tech giant to expand Internet access in schools and increase paid maternity leave, as well as the Indian-born executive鈥檚 immigrant roots.
The issues highlighted in the post could indicate that Obama could call on Congress and businesses to focus on two long-time priorities for the administration 鈥 expanding Internet access to low-income households and supporting workplace benefits for women, .
Goldman, the White House technology head, noted that in addition to shifting how the address is delivered, President Obama also hopes to use the speech to discuss broader goals beyond the next year, using the increased participation of online users as a springboard for that conversation.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of valid criticism about all the noise in online media, and the risks鈥娾斺奲ut there are countless examples of people embracing the clutter and using the Internet to come together to make positive change,鈥 he wrote. 鈥淲e believe that by 鈥渂roadcasting鈥 the State of the Union across social media and streaming video platforms we are helping American citizens connect to the government that serves them.鈥