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This in from MTV News digital producer Megan Warner:
Last night I went to a dynamic discussion at the Tribeca Film Festival on the effect user-generated content (UGC) is continuing to have on the media. The focus of the evening was introducing this Saturday’s first annual Pangea Day, a four-hour international online streaming film/performance fest -- a "YouTube" day if you will, that aims to initiate intercultural dialogue. The idea is that people all over the world will watch the program at the same exact time, be it online or on TV. On the panel were Christiane Amanpour, CNN’s chief international correspondent in NY (and one of my She-roes!), filmmaker and Pangea Day founder Jehane Noujaim, and ex-MTV News correspondent Gideon Yago, who has produced extensive youth-focused television on issues from the Iraq war to sexual health.
One interesting moment came when Gideon suggested UGC now has more influence than traditional broadcast-news coverage (aka Amanpour’s territory):
"I think that it’s very exciting…in part because what is getting out there is so impressionistic, is so visceral, is so raw… I defy any one of you guys to type the word ‘war’ into YouTube and compare it to -- no disrespect [looks at Amanpour] -- the things that you’ll see on the nightly news. And even though it will be uncontextualized, and it will be impressionistic, I think it might be closer to the truth [Amanpour rolls eyes, makes a face, and audience laughs]…"
Amanpour didn’t throw down with Gideon -- but she did draw on her incredible background in broadcast journalism to discuss the impact she thinks citizen-made media can have on world leaders. She left the audience with a challenge: “Basically people have a choice,” said Amanpour. “You can either use this media for its destructive or for its positive power.”
But what’s so new about UGC? Are users really continuing to have an impact on how the news is covered -- or was that all part of a transitional moment in the life of the Net? Beyond celebrity gossip, does what you post online have the potential to make waves?
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