--- title: Why Medium Is Changing How Politicians Communicate description: The platform offers politicians the intimacy soundbite culture shuns. canonical: https://time.com/4428693/medium-website-politicians-hillary-clinton/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-28T17:45:24.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:50:19.157Z article:section: Politics og:title: This Website Is Changing How Politicians Communicate og:description: Medium is taking over the political realm—at the media's expense og:url: https://time.com/4428693/medium-website-politicians-hillary-clinton/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfe4c5aec5c4bc5ac/6988717acd1bbac8d96fe263/gettyimages-471541264.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: GettyImages-471541264 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Website Is Changing How Politicians Communicate twitter:description: Medium is taking over the political realm—at the media's expense twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfe4c5aec5c4bc5ac/6988717acd1bbac8d96fe263/gettyimages-471541264.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Website Is Changing How Politicians Communicate > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=8a7b0441-9321-4073-a649-1949662fe640&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jul 28, 2016 5:45 PM UTC  Evan Williams, co-founder of Twitter Inc., and co-founder and chief executive officer of Medium.com, speaks as Brad Stone, senior writer for Bloomberg Businessweekat the Bloomberg Businessweek Design 2015 Conference in San Francisco on April 28, 2015. Evan Williams, co-founder of Twitter Inc., and co-founder and chief executive officer of Medium.com, speaks as Brad Stone, senior writer for Bloomberg Businessweekat the Bloomberg Businessweek Design 2015 Conference in San Francisco on April 28, 2015. David Paul Morris—Bloomberg Finance LP by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jul 28, 2016 5:45 PM UTC Digital media has become the 21st-century politicians best friend. Twitter is the prom queen of the 2016 presidential campaign, thanks in large part to [Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump](http://time.com/4427753/dnc-donald-trump-hillary-clinton/)’s [fondness for the platform](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc^google|twcamp^serp|twgr^author), but Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram have also become just as integral to political campaigns as TV appearances and press releases. And while social media platforms have gotten most of the attention, there’s one site that’s become an overwhelmingly popular way for politicos to get their message out: Medium. You might not have heard of Medium, but you’ve probably visited the site without knowing it. The blogging platform, which launched in 2012, is focused on one thing: providing a beautiful, custom way to present text to an audience. That simple focus has convinced political stars from Hillary Clinton to Sen. Chuck Schumer to start making major use of it. When Clinton wanted to explain the reasons behind her selection of Sen. Tim Kaine as her VP pick, she posted it on Medium. When the White House released the text of Obama’s 2016 State of the Union Address, they published it on Medium before the president started to speak. Throughout both the [Republican](https://medium.com/gop-convention) and [Democratic National Conventions](https://medium.com/democratic-national-convention/tagged/dnc-monday), Medium has been a hub for speeches and in depth behind-the-scenes looks at the event. During the GOP convention, the Republican National Committee was the site’s most popular section. For its part, the Democratic National Committee has been using the site to give an inside look at the convention. Want to read the text of a speech or learn about a delegate? It’s right on their page. “We’re here to share stories and every platform has an audience,” says Kelli Klein, the Digital Director at the DNC for 2016. Medium may not be the largest social media platform—the site gets 25 million monthly uniques— but packs a punch. Matt Higginson, the head of politics and government affairs at Medium, says the platform offers politicians the intimacy our soundbite culture shuns, which helps it attract a more influential readership. “Conversation in particular seems to be something that no one really crafts well,” he told TIME. “The right audience is more important than the biggest audience.” The platform easily lends itself to lengthy, text heavy posts—perfect for press releases. But Higginson says he urges members to shy away from using it that way. “Some members have seen Medium as a way to do a better version of what a press release could be,” he says. “But I spent a lot of time telling members that people aren’t reading their press releases because they’re boring, they’re benign.” [The White House](https://medium.com/@WhiteHouse) has been a fan of the site for some time, often using Medium to share information while circumventing the news media. The layout of the site makes it easier for politicians to break their own news and control their own message. Higginson admits the platform can be used in this way, but says the company isn’t encouraging members and politicians to use the site as their exclusive communication platform. He also pushes back against concerns that Medium can create too much separation from politicians and those who hold them accountable, saying that says watchdog groups can use the site alongside government figures to provide additional context and criticism. “We don’t see Medium as keeping people from poking holes in politicians narratives,” Higginson said. Medium can indeed be a tool to push back against the spin, but it’s also part of a larger trend toward more direct interaction between politicians and their constituents. In an era when politicos make a point of denigrating the media, the site provides another way for them to speak to voters without a filter. 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