By Kim Hart
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 13, 2009

YouTube is letting members of Congress create their own video channels on the site in an effort to give politicians a new outlet to reach their constituents.

Yesterday, YouTube and Congress launched sites for the House and Senate, allowing lawmakers to post videos from their Capitol Hill offices, media interviews or answers to citizens' questions. The features of other YouTube channels that allow interaction with viewers, such as ratings and comments, will apply to the congressional channels.

A company blog post by YouTube's Steve Grove said, "These YouTube channels have the potential to make Congress more transparent and accessible than ever before -- but only if citizens continue to connect and engage with their government."

The blog continued: "If your elected representative doesn't have a YouTube channel yet, give them a call or an e-mail and encourage them to get started."

On that note, Congress may be getting a lot of calls. A number of states are not yet represented on the YouTube sites. Congressmen from Maryland, Louisiana and New Mexico, for example, have not yet created channels. Senators from Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Arizona do not have a presence on the Senate site. West Virginia and Idaho are not represented on either site.

On his YouTube channel, Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.) posted a video answering a question from a Silver Spring resident named Margaret. He also posted an informational video about the inauguration, explaining that he would randomly choose names from the 55,000 Marylanders who requested tickets for the event.

Even those who have channels could have a hard time gaining viewers. Cardin's inauguration video has been viewed 118 times, including two viewings by this reporter. His channel has one subscriber.

Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.) created a channel in May 2007. His channel has 28 subscribers. He hasn't posted a video in seven months.