In Focus Today
(2006-11-23)
Listen to report
Find out what happens when you put a box of Mentos in a bottle of Diet Coke. Watch a US senator make the mistake that lost him the race. It all started with one video of a trip to the zoo. Now, less than two years later, YouTube features 100 million videos, enjoys 20 million visitors each month, and has won Time magazine's Invention of the Year Award. The founders of the Internet site have cashed in big, selling to Google for more than $1.65 billion. The video-sharing site has created a video village on the web, where anyone can be a star, from lip-synching teenage girls to skateboarding dogs. It even played an unexpected role in this year's elections. What is YouTube's appeal in a media-saturated age? Who's using it and why? How is it helping to redefine copyright issues? Sara Terry guest hosts.
Guests:
- Lev Grossman: Staff writer for "Time" magazine
- Robert Thompson: Professor of Popular Culture at Syracuse University
- Bryant Fisher: Film student at Pratt Institute in New York City
- Julie Barko Germany: Deputy Director of the Institute for Politics, Democracy and the Internet
- Wendy Seltzer: Visiting Assistant Professor at Brooklyn Law School
"To the Point" is produced by KCRW/Santa Monica and distributed nationwide by PRI.
Get more info about "To the Point" and find out if this program airs in your area. © Copyright 2012, pri
