I am in some ways, more grown up after spending five days immersed as Press at the Republican National Convention. I watched celebrities, politicians, protesters, and people — like my right-wing roommates, Melissa and Gabby, come hundreds of miles away to take part in politics. I was impressed by the power of a political party — but not deterred from what I was there to do: test out cutting edge technology and cover this controversial Convention in the most unconventional way.
Here are a few of my favorite clips from the week. In no particular order, I give you, dispatches from the ground.
While I was at the RNC, my New York Street Team partner, Sara Benincasa did something wildly creative and amazing. She made YouTube series of her dressed as Sarah Palin – and begged the question — if Governor Sarah Palin had a vlog - would it sound like this?
Within days, the blog attracted hundreds of thousands of views — and an on air compliment from CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that, “this stuff is pretty funny.”
I never thought I would enjoy Paris Hilton. But with the tension of the race, the defensive overtones of the candidates and the little sleep I’m getting, this response to Senator John McCain (who used her and Britney Spears in a campaign ad, mocking Barack Obama’s celebrity) was absolutley perfect. And hilarious. I just had to laugh..and then there was no choice but to show my roommate — and laugh some more. Oh, campaign season.
I came across a few videos from MTV News and Gideon Yago tonight. All of the ones I found were from 2006 and reminded me of the old school news breaks MTV News used to run. Except they weren’t 10 to the Hour — they were in depth and serious. And it seems like Yago got some traction within MTV News with a project called Iraq Uploaded.
The angle of how technology, pop culture and soldier stories merge — is a way I haven’t seen the war covered. With the video I considered how unprecedented and unknown territory it is for soldiers to bring digital cameras for their Iraq tours. Apparently some guys even strapped handheld digitals to their helmets. Don’t be surprised to see graphic stuff. This wasn’t made for Nightly News.
I heard a few months ago from the Department of Defense that the military evaluates videos recorded and uploaded in real time as a possible threat to OpSec, or, Operational Security. Same goes for blogs. This Lieutenant just had to take down his blog, while others, some active duty and some Veterans, continue to share their stories. It’s an all together an unprecedented issue for the Military.
“This doesn’t just close out a month when I (determinedly) worked through each weekend, it signifies a milestone in my Street Team tenure. I am half way through this journey. My production skills have greatly improved, but more than that, I think I found what a friend and mentor advised I do back in January.
“Erica, Humanize this War.”
With that advice, I thought – and continue to think, about the way to do it. For this video, and over time, I talked to dozens of Veterans. Read every article I could. And through conversation, absorbed anecdotes — about a confusing and unorganized war – from intelligence officers, artillery soldiers, explosive specialists and more.
They aired of the first Safe Sex PSAs in ‘85, covered the Persian Gulf War in ‘91, registered 37,000 new voters in ‘96 and documented genocide in Sudan in ‘04.
But now all the focus is on The Hills and Real World, which is why it is hard to believe MTV is still at the forefront of what is relevant to us. With full disclosure, I didn’t realize (until I got this gig and had to become familiar with MTV again), that significant political and social trails are still being blazed. Big ones. Right before your eyes.
Let me back up to share with you how I came to this post by admitting how sheltered my childhood was - (I did grow up in Indiana).
The year was 1996. Sixth grade. I saw the orthodontists more than my homeroom and was at the primo-awkward stage in life. Yes, it was *awesome. Note that sarcasm.
I was home on a summer day flipping through the channels and my eye caught Fiona Apple’s Criminal music video. I couldn’t help it, I was mesmerized for too many reasons to mention. Fifteen seconds later, my Mom walked into the room. I flipped the channel. She turned it back on — and what followed was total awkwardness. The next thing I knew, my Mom was on the phone with the cable company, and the channel was blocked. My life would forever be changed.
As I would learn a decade later, the video, Fiona said, was about ”feeling bad for getting something so easily by using your sexuality.” Now that I think of it, it is ironic that this video was about guilt. Something my Catholic upbringing made me all too familiar with.
That was a tragic afternoon but one that has informed, perhaps in the most backwards way, my adolescence and now young adulthood. The irony is that ten years later, MTV has come back into my life. If my Mom were here to share this adventure with me, I’m sure she would be proud. And here’s why.
