Politicians use social media to bypass the press corps | PBS

Politicians are figuring out what social media technologies like blogs, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter have to offer: direct access to voters. More than ever before, they can bypass the professional press and deliver an uncensored, unfiltered -- and unchecked -- message.

"[Social media] allows me to gives my thoughts on the events of the day and the complete text of my comments from speeches and stuff that I give that the mainstream media might not normally cover," said Francis Slay, the mayor of St. Louis, in a phone interview...