Warhol Knew

I was on TV today. It happens with infrequent regularity in my line of work as I am often caught in the video crossfire of my broadcast journalism brethren while covering the same story for our respective outlets.

I didn’t see it myself as I was still covering the story, but when the snippet was broadcast on a local morning news program, one of my friends did. And although it is not everyday one might find oneself on TV, with the proliferation of cable TV stations and cameras capturing every little detail, it is much more common than when I was a kid with one family TV (black and white, no remote) and only five stations - seven if you count UHF.

Indeed, the luster of the accidental television appearance has all but worn off… and to make matters worse, along comes YouTube.

Now anyone, and I do mean anyone can appear via video anytime and as often as he or she likes. Once upon a time, an appearance on the small screen was a one-shot deal. Home video recorders were not invented yet and when they came along, they were not the ubiquitous “must-have” appliances they are today. Even when home VCRs were commonplace, the replaying of these magic moments of fame only took place within the privacy of one’s own home.

YouTube and other sites that accommodate video publishing like Blogger and MySpace have proven Andy Warhol’s prediction, “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes,” as a coming reality. Although there is no guarantee a video will garner widespread fame - the odds are considerably better than they were in days gone by. YouTube eliminates an element that prevented many from ever being broadcast - being in the right place at the right time. It has taken the luck of the draw or whatever powers that be out of the picture - um… so to speak.

A simple search of the most watched videos on YouTube reveals a veritable smorgasbord from the inane to the important, the silly to the sad and everything else imaginable. There is no telling what might strike the masses’ fancy on any given day at any given moment.

Video Pabulum? Sure, much of it is, but not all of it and the mainstream media and other very much “for profit” entities have begun to recognize YouTube’s commercial value.

Nokia, Verizon and Best Buy are just a few of the multi-national, multi-million dollar corporations that have taken advantage of the YouTube phenomenon. Even the United States Navy has a YouTube channel. Other specialized campaigns such as movie releases, new product launches and promotional contests have found a home on YouTube as well. Additionally, there are companies who have produced particularly clever campaigns that are reproduced and posted by private, everyday citizens with an urge to share… or perhaps enjoy some vicarious fame.

Recently I was searching for some older video clips from one of my favorite rock bands. In my YouTube quest, I turned up a video produced by the Sacramento Bee. It was originally posted on the Bee’s Web site, SacBee.com, but not surprisingly it found its way to YouTube. I had an opportunity recently to speak with Sue Morrow, the Bee’s photo editor, and I asked her if the Bee was posting any of its material - specifically that clip - on YouTube. Although she didn’t know, she was adamant that the Bee should be taking advantage of sites like YouTube. Like many others, Morrow’s vision of the future for the news media includes the use of non-traditional outlets.

The clip I found was covering a free concert by Sacramento’s own Tesla at Cesar Chavez Plaza on May 31, 2007. I was looking for older material, but I happened to be shooting that concert as well. It wasn’t long before I recognized the video as the one produced by the Bee, and if there was any confusion, it would have been cleared up by the title attribution, “A Sacramento Bee Video.”

I watched it again. I was in it.