Broadcasting : from Youtube to Leprechauns.

All over the web, whether it's on website’s, youtube, blogs, wiki's etc, video is everywhere. From recently conducting research in this area, due to my role of Media Mogul in our human rights project, I have come to see the impact the media has had on video.
Due to advances in technology, video can now be broadcast in many, totally new and different ways. The internet, for example, has allowed anyone, anywhere anytime to make, upload and distribute videos. All you need is a camera, computer and idea for a video and your set. Instantly, your ideas on human rights, or even just a prank caught on tape can be shared and viewed by people everywhere. Think of all the people who now have record deals because of being noticed on youtube, or all the directors of documentaries that can now reach audiences twice as large. The internet has essentially made video on line limitless.
Video has become a very effective way of reaching audiences. It provides facts and information in a fun, audience engaging way. The media has made video extremely accessible and easy to make, encouraging everyone to act and have a voice.
Way back to the beginning of the semester, we talked about the key concept "Media have social and political implications". I think that because the media has revolutionized the way we present information and how accessible it is (video), they have also influenced and shaped how we view social issues. This week in class, we were shown that video on human rights "Our World Today". This video and many others on the net like it, are influencing how we view those issues. The ideas and messages presented in them rub off a little on the audience when viewed. Maybe they raise new questions or cause you to view the issue under new light. Once, I watched a youtube video called Leprechaun in Mobile, Alabama. (watch it if you haven't, which I'm assuming is most of you). I realize its ridiculous, but it influenced me none the less! It totally changed my view on Americans in the southern states. It made me feel as though the media in the south, their News Casts, are less legitimate and more of a joke. The fact that they chose to do a story on an imaginary leprechaun made me laugh. I think overall it influenced most how I view Southern Americans. The video made them seem uneducated and somewhat crazy when they showed the amatuer sketch and the lady rambling in the white car about a "crack head". This clip showed me a side of American citizens I really didn't know and has left me with a negative impression of people living in the south. I know it's not a social rights issue or anything, but it is however an example of the power of Video to influence its audience.
Overall, I think that Video has become a powerful aspect of the media. Anyone can use it and the possibilities are endless.