State of the Union address: Do Americans even watch it?

Officially, the annual State of the Union speech is for the president to address members of Congress, the representatives of the people.

Of course, radio and TV has allowed the president to take his message directly into American homes for the better part of the past century. Now, in today’s restless, hypermedia age – in which the Internet and mobile devices enable viewers to snack their way through the news – his audience has gone virally global, increasing the strategic burden on the president but also expanding his opportunity to communicate with a vast and diverse “constituency.”

So who actually tunes into this annual political rite?

How much do you know about the State of the Union speeches? A quiz.

Usually, about 45 million to 50 million people watch it the traditional way: on TV. That number can vary, though, from year to year, according to Nielsen ratings. Bill Clinton set a recent high-water mark of nearly 67 million households in 1993, but he also defined the lowest ebb in 2000 with less than half that.

Sure to be among them are the “political junkies,” says Binghamton University political scientist John McNulty. These include the slew of policy wonks hovering blocks from Capitol Hill, as well as foreign leaders in virtually every country on the planet scouring for hints about new policy directions.

This vast and often conflicting cornucopia of politically motivated tune-ins makes the president’s job a strategic balancing act. The audience comes from many urgent points of view around the world – with the most important being in the US, says Bruce Newman, editor in chief of the Journal of Political Marketing at DePaul University in Chicago.

The list includes Democratic and Republican Party officials in every state and city. Potential donors for the 2012 presidential run will also be observing closely, adds Mr. Newman via e-mail, adding that this means “Interest Groups, Political Action Committees, and generally wealthy people, corporations, and individual voters.”

Niche groups and a worldwide audience

Interest groups such as the global warming skeptics behind junkscience.com, for instance, will be tuning in to see if the president addresses their particular niche of concern. “Everyone interested in global warming and the green energy movement will be tuning in to see what Obama has to say,” says junkscience.com publisher, Steve Milloy, adding that a mention in such an important policy speech as the State of the Union could give an important hint about an administration's future plans in a given area. “Anyone with an issue to follow will be listening very closely,” he adds.

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