BIGGER THAN RUSH:

Harper hot stuff on Apple's iTunes (JORGE BARRERA, July 3, 2006, SUN MEDIA)

Prime Minister Stephen Harper wants to sit next to Chantal Kreviazuk, Wolfmother and Spearhead - in your iPod.

The prime minister tops the list of most-downloaded podcasts at the online iTunes music store, Apple's massively popular music download site.

Every Harper speech since the April 4 speech from the throne can be downloaded for free. While the speeches are available on the Tory party's website, putting them on iTunes has given them much wider exposure and triggered a slight tremor through cyberspace. [...]

University of Ottawa political historian Michael Behiels said politicians are historically quick to ride new media to get their message out. He said the Conservatives under John Diefenbaker were the first to exploit television in Canadian politics.

"This is part and parcel of having brought in a younger generation of business-orientated Conservatives," said Behiels.

"The Conservatives are leading the way at the moment and the other parties will soon have to catch up."

Diefenbaker even co-starred on that show with the dreamy Mountie.

Posted by Orrin Judd at July 3, 2006 2:51 PM