Today’s New York Times has a piece about how young voters are getting news online, sharing it socially, and avoiding traditional outlets like the six o’clock news in favor of internet outlets for similar information. The Times ties metrics speaking to the voracious consumption of news online by young people to the massive rise of turnout by youth voters in the presidential primary campaign. In short, it’s an article that should serve as a combined validation for the work internet technologists on political campaigns and people like Mike Connery, Jane Fleming Kleeb, Alex Urevick-Ackelsberg, and Fred Gooltz who have all been evangelicals when it comes to the rise of youth vote.

It’s great to see the media finally recognize that young people care about politics and are finding new ways to learn and share information about politics online – and then taking that information and voting on it. That said, I wonder what the reasoning for having the art for this article included a photo of youths at an Obama rally holding a poster designed by Shephard Fairey. It’s a nice picture and all, but while the article uses a couple Obama references for how youth enthusiasm is manifesting itself in the presidential campaign, the article isn’t about Obama’s support from young voters.