In an attempt to break the strangle-hold of multi-national news organisations in the country, a daily national student newspaper has been launched in America to provide young people with independent coverage of the US presidential campaigns.

Drawing on voluntary contributions from student journalists, Scoop08­ is an online student publication that brings together writers from across the country to provide in-depth coverage of the US Democratic and Republican primary contests.

Launched in November 2007, the website was established by a Andrew Mangino, Yale undergraduate, and high school student Alexander Heffner with the support of such luminaries as the senior editor of Newsweek, Jonathan Alter and Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman and calls upon the input of up to 400 staff writers across the country.

The website has come to prominence as recent trends show America’s supposedly disaffected youth are increasingly becoming an important voting block. This has been most potently exploited by Democratic candidate Barack Obama, whose mobilisation of the 18-35 vote in a primary contest has been the most effective of any candidate recent decades.

In an interview with CNN, Mr Heffner said: “We have a network of over 300 student journalists across the country who are covering all the candidates, all the issues. And the scope of the production allows for us to cover candidates like Mike Huckabee, Ron Paul, others who are just coming to the forefront of the campaign presently.

“I think the Internet has allowed for students from California, Texas, the Northeast, to come together and to report on the race. And this is an opportunity unlike any other. It is truly unprecedented. We have not seen the Internet play this influential a role in any presidential election thus far.”

The site claims: “This race is unprecedented. The interest it has generated on high school and college campuses across America is extraordinary. Young people are excited to move forward, and they are willing - perhaps for the first time in a while - to care.”

The website is run by the non-profit organisation Scoop Media Inc and was designed by New York firm, Winterhouse. It had an initial invest of $20,000 and benefits from an advisory board of prominent reporters, politicians and consultants.

Mr Heffner told the New York Times “We’re at the forefront of some innovative news and technologies in this virtual newsroom. There is no central hub besides the United States of America.”