Viewfinder: Media Diversity and You

The videos that you make are each unique and individual expressions. In a world that is brimming with TV produced by the entertainment industry, our society needs more programming diversity. As a video creator, the simple act of making videos for people to view can be one of the greatest contributions that you can make to society.

A select few in LA and New York create the vast majority of TV programming in this country. This process is driven by ratings and advertisers willing to pay big bucks to reach an audience numbering in the tens of millions. Market conditions force motion picture and television programming executives to create programs that appeal to the greatest number of people and offend the least number of people. Larger audiences result in higher advertising revenues. Marketers purchase TV commercials with the goal of persuading us to buy as many products as possible. As a result, while the variety of shows is impressive, there is precious little diversity.

To insure diversity, we need a multitude of video creators not beholden to the biggest and most powerful companies and advertisers. Creative individual video producers, are critical to maintain an open and free society. As one of these individuals, it is important that you are free, and that you separate your voice from the larger and louder one that may want to drown…