YouTube or TheTube?

The following is a MediaNote Classic. It was originally presented to MC101 students in March 2017.

YouTube viewership continues to grow rapidly, while traditional television viewing has peaked, bringing us very close to the point where YouTube IS television as much as NBC is television. How is that changing what we watch and how what we watch impacts our view of the world? NPR reports.

Questions...

•If TV is more like YouTube in 10 years, is that a good thing or a bad thing? Why?

•Is YouTube more a short head or a long tail media outlet? Why?

•Should YouTube be more of a gatekeeper? How might gatekeeping change YouTube?

•Is YouTube's recommendation engine partly to blame for growing extreme beliefs and rhetoric in American society? Why or why not?