JOHN BROWN IS AN
ANCHOR IN ORLANDO.
HE'S A LOCAL
NEWS ANCHOR, AND RECENTLY HE
WALKED OFF THE SET IN
FRUSTRATION BECAUSE OF YET
ANOTHER KIM KARDASHIAN STORY.
THIS IS GOOD DAY ORLANDO, AND HE
IS ONE OF THE HOSTS.
APPARENTLY, THEY WERE TALKING
ABOUT A MIND NUMBINGLY DUMB
STORY REGARDING KYLIE JENNER
NAMING HER BUNNY BRUCE.
THE
FACT THAT THAT IS EVEN A NEWS
STORY IS RIDICULOUS, BUT THEY
WERE COVERING IT, AND FINALLY
JOHN BROWN IS LIKE, I'M GETTING
THE HELL OUT OF HERE.
HE WENT
ON A RANT THAT UNFORTUNATELY WE
CANNOT SHOW YOU, DUE TO
COPYRIGHT LAW,
BUT HE SAYS,
"I'M HAVING A GOOD FRIDAY, SO I
REFUSE TO TALK ABOUT THE
KARDASHIAN TODAY.
I'VE HAD
ENOUGH KARDASHIANS, I CAN'T TAKE
ANY MORE KARDASHIAN STORIES ON
THE SHOW.
I DON'T CARE ABOUT
THIS FAMILY, I'M SICK OF THIS
FAMILY, IT'S A NONSTORY!"
LATER
ON, HE SAID, "WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
THIS FAMILY EVERY DAY ON THIS
SHOW.
NOBODY CARES ABOUT THE
FAMILY ANYMORE!
I'VE HAD
ENOUGH."
IT'S INCREDIBLE,
BECAUSE THIS RESONATED WITH SO MANY
PEOPLE IN THE COUNTRY.
SO MANY
PEOPLE CAN RELATE TO HIS
FRUSTRATION, AND THE FACT THAT
THESE NONSENSICAL STORIES KEEP
GETTING PUSHED OUT OVER AND OVER
AGAIN, BUT I DO THINK IT RAISES
AN INTERESTING QUESTION.
ONE OF
THE REASONS THE MEDIA COVERS THE
STORIES OVER AND OVER AGAIN IS
BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE WATCHING.
PEOPLE ARE LISTENING, WHETHER
THEY WANT TO ADMIT IT OR NOT,
PEOPLE ARE PAYING ATTENTION TO
THESE STORIES.
I KNOW THAT ITíS
THE JOB OF THE MEDIA TO MAKE
GOOD DECISIONS IN TERMS OF WHAT
TYPES OF TOPICS THEY COVER, BUT
RATINGS DO MATTER, AND
UNFORTUNATELY, STORIES LIKE
THIS LEAD TO MASSIVE RATINGS.
I THINK IT IS A FEEDBACK LOOP
AT THIS POINT.
MEDIA FEED INTO
IT, THE EXPOSURE EXPANDS IN A
WAY THAT IS MIND-NUMBING TO
ACTUALLY WATCH, YOU ARE
BOMBARDED BY KARDASHIAN TRASH
ALL THE TIME, AND THEN PEOPLE
SORT OF, I THINK THAT THEN THE
AUDIENCE STARTS TO THINK THAT
THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE
INTERESTED, AND THAT IS WHAT IS
TRENDING AND WHAT PEOPLE ARE
TALKING ABOUT.
IT FEEDS ON
ITSELF, IT IS A VICIOUS,
DOWNWARD SPIRAL.
I CAN SAY, AS SOMEONE WHO
WORKS IN NEWS, WHAT IS DIFFICULT
IS, IF YOU ARE GOING TO COVER
SERIOUS, POLITICAL CONTENT, THAT
ACTUALLY HAS A REAL DIRECT
IMPACT ON THE PEOPLE IN THIS
COUNTRY, IT JUST DOESN'T GET
MUCH PLAY.
TYT HAS MANAGED TO
DO SOMETHING MIRACULOUS WITH THE
YOUTUBE AUDIENCE, BECAUSE THE
YOUTUBE AUDIENCES ARE NOT KNOWN
TO WANT TO CONSUME VERY NUANCED,
POLITICAL ISSUES.
A LOT OF THEM
WANT TO HAVE FUN AND BE
ENTERTAINED, THAT IS WHAT
YOUTUBE'S PRIMARY GOAL IS.
SO
WE DO A WIDE VARIETY OF CONTENT,
AND IT ALWAYS DISTURBS ME WHEN
WE DO A STORY THAT I'M HONESTLY
RELUCTANT TO DO, AND THEN
WE DO A STORY ON EDUCATION
AND IT DOESN'T DO WELL.
YESTERDAY WE COVERED THE
MASTURBATORY STUDY, AND EVERYONE
WAS BITCHING ABOUT IT IN THE
COMMENTS, AND YET
THAT STORY HAD MORE VIEWS THAN
ANY OF OUR OTHER STORIES.
WHAT
DO YOU WANT FROM US?
IT IS A SUPPLY
AND DEMAND BUSINESS.
AT WHAT
POINT DO YOU GET HIGH AND MIGHTY IN
YOU ROLE AS A MEDIA ORGANIZATION
AND SAY THAT YOU WILL NOT TALK
ABOUT A SPECIFIC STORY?
THE IDEA
IS, I THINK IT IS A LITTLE BIT
OF A DELICATE DANCE, WHEN IT
COMES TO MEDIA, I THINK IT
APPLIES ACROSS THE BOARD,
BECAUSE YOU WANT TO ENGAGE
IN THOSE ISSUES TO GET THOSE
EYEBALLS, SO THAT YOU CAN THEN
FEED THEM SOMETHING WITH
SUBSTANCE.
THAT IS OUR BUSINESS MODEL.
A LOT OF THE PEOPLE WHO WATCH
OUR POLITICAL CONTENT STARTED
OFF BY WATCHING A POP-CULTURE OR
SOCIAL COMMENTARY STORY THAT WE
DID IN THE SECOND HOUR.
A STORY
THAT MIGHT HAVE BROADER APPEAL
TO YOUNGER AUDIENCES.
EVERY
ONCE IN A WHILE I WILL GET AN
EMAIL FROM SOMEBODY WHO IS
FOURTEEN, AND IT WILL START OFF
BY SAYING, I WATCHED YOUR VIDEO
ON KYLIE JENNER'S APPROPRIATION
ñ AND THAT IS NOT A DUMB TOPIC,
THAT IS AN INTERESTING TOPIC ñ
AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THEY
STUMBLED ON IRAN'S NUCLEAR DEAL,
AND THEY DECIDED TO EDUCATE
THEMSELVES ON IT.
THEN ALL OF A
SUDDEN THEY ARE NOT ONLY
FOLLOWING THE POLITICAL CONTENT
THAT WE PRODUCE, BUT THEY ARE
ALSO BEING INSPIRED TO STUDY
POLITICAL SCIENCE.
THAT, TO ME ñ
IT'S WORTH DOING THE STORIES
THAT I DON'T REALLY LIKE.
BY
THE WAY, I HOPE YOU GUYS
UNDERSTAND THAT EVEN WHEN WE DO
TOPICS THAT SEEMS SHALLOW ON THE
SURFACE, WE TRY TO HAVE AN
INTELLIGENT CONVERSATION ABOUT
IT.
YES, THE MASTURBATORY STORY
WAS ABOUT DUDES MASTURBATING,
AND EVERYONE IS UNCOMFORTABLE
WITH TOPICS LIKE THAT, BUT WE
HAD A GOOD CONVERSATION
ABOUT IT.
NOBODY WAS ACTING LIKE IT WAS
HARD SCIENCE, AND AGAIN, I TRY
NOT TO DELVE INTO YOUTUBE
COMMENTS, BUT I THINK WHEN IT
COMES TO THE MEDIA, IT IS A
CONSTANT GIVE AND TAKE, IN TERMS
OF SUBSTANCE VERSUS FLUFFIER
CONTENT, AND HOW TO BALANCE
THOSE AND ATTRACT EYEBALLS, BUT
ALSO GET PEOPLE INTERESTED IN
TOPICS THAT ARE, FRANKLY, JUST
HIGHER RISK.
IT IS ALSO THE
ENVIRONMENT IN AMERICAN MEDIA,
AND AMERICAN AUDIENCES.
THERE
SEEMS TO BE MORE OF AN APPETITE
INTERNATIONALLY ABOUT
SUBSTANTIVE NEWS.
THERE IS SOMETHING TO THE BASIC
MEDIA APPETITE HERE IN AMERICA.
BY THE WAY, IT IS OKAY TO
HAVE A WELL-ROUNDED APPETITE,
WHERE YOU WANT ALL SORTS OF
CONTENT.
THERE ARE POLITICAL
JUNKIES OUT THERE WHO ONLY WANT
POLITICAL CONTENT, AND
ENTERTAINMENT JUNKIES THAT ONLY WANT
ENTERTAINMENT CONTENT, BUT THERE
ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT THERE
WHO ARE INTERESTED IN A LOT OF
VARIETY AND I LOVE THAT.
I LOVE THAT BECAUSE I DO NOT
ALWAYS WANT TO TALK ABOUT
SERIOUS, DEPRESSING NEWS.
I WANT TO HAVE SOME FUN AND TALK
ABOUT MASTURBATION, AND THAT'S OKAY.
IT'S ALL ABOUT MODERATION.
I
DO NOT HAVE A PERSONAL VENDETTA
ABOUT THE KARDASHIANS, BUT I
REALLY APPRECIATE THAT THIS GUY
BLEW HIS TOP.
I THINK HE IS THE
MANIFESTATION OF A LOT OF PEOPLE
IN THE MEDIA WHO CANNOT BELIEVE
THAT THEY ARE STILL TALKING
ABOUT THIS FAMILY.
GOD BLESS YOU
DON BROWN, PREACH.
