Could YouTube send KUJH down the tube? Well, it may not help us get ahead. Photo: Sarah Hart
When I think of YouTube, I think of an entertainment site, not a news site. My professor, however, would argue somewhat differently. He would say that YouTube is a source of compelling news content. For example, he often talks highly of the video on the site from the Minnesota bridge collapse and the Virginia Tech shooting. While I don't discredit his point, in fact I found some interesting video, I don't see where YouTube offers KUJH-TV the capabilities to be what we strive so hard for it to be: an innovative, multimedia news source.
YouTube can get the station more exposure, a connection to the online world and a greater presence on Google. For students, it gives the opportunity to gain professional connections for hiring. Yet, YouTube doesn't allow us to highlight our most prestigious feature.
Multimedia journalism is what the station is all about. We want graphs, pictures, extended interviews, and slideshows to accompany and enhance our text and video. There's even an entire class devoted to multimedia reporting. Yet, we have ventured onto a site that doesn't allow us to show this off.
We have so much more to offer a broader audience than just our video and text. I thought the point was to show the online world how innovative and convergent we are about our news gathering? YouTube, unfortunately, only lets us do that with a link.
What a thoughtful post, Sarah. You bring up great points. While it can't hurt to put stuff on You Tube, I concur, that it's important to think of better ways to showcase our talents and leverage our content. Any thoughts on what that might be?