A new political campaign tool is being offered this electoral season, courtesy of The Meridian Star.

Candidates tired of using the same old techniques can utilize a cutting-edge facet of The Star’s Web site, which allows candidates to purchase a 2-minute campaign video that can be viewed by anyone with Internet access.

Candidates interested in this new platform will purchase a spot, find a time to shoot the video and then Web Reporter Ben Lockridge will shoot, edit and upload the video. The fee: a flat $400 rate.

“Once this video is shot and uploaded, it will stay up on the Web site until the election, unless candidates want to change or update the video for a $50 fee,” said Advertising Director Richard Maloof. “We will also be promoting this new feature in our newspaper, so candidates will be reaching voters in both of those areas.

Maloof said the Star has never done anything like this.

“Meridian is ahead of the curve in this new type of innovation and we are a leader in this industry,” he said. “We are bringing the candidates to new people and demographics that they might not have reached before via the Web.”

The videos are featured on the homepage — www.meridianstar.com — under the local news with a tab marked “Election 2007 Candidates.” After clicking on that link, a person will select whether they want to view Republican, Democrat or independent candidates, and then pick which race they are looking for videos. A list of any candidates with uploaded video will appear and the Internet user can view their campaign ads.

State Senator Terry Burton became the first candidate to utilize this new technology in his race for re-election in District 31.

“I think this is a tremendous opportunity to use today’s technology to get a point across,” said Burton. “People can view this wherever they are, they can compare candidates, look them in the eye, and hear the reasons to vote for that candidate. This was also incredibly affordable, and a great way for us to utilize our limited funds.”

Viewing the video does require installation of a free plug-in which can be found at www.divx.com/divx/webplayer.