The Young Turks on YouTube: Keepin' It Real and Beating Out Corporate News

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Circumventing mainstream media and its gatekeepers, The Young Turks debuted the first online daily news talk show in 2006. Since then, the network founded by Cenk Uygur has accumulated more than 1 billion views for its progressive and unrestrained programming hosted on YouTube. It’s the largest online news show network in the world.

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“There are no scripts, no rules, no censors—no one is telling you what you can or can’t say,” says host Ana Kasparian. More than anything, The Young Turks network’s stated focus is on telling the truth, whether it’s covering politics, economics, social trends, or pop culture. The participatory nature of online media (there’s a live comment feed alongside every show) attracts an audience quick to fact-check, correct, and provide feedback—all welcomed by the network.

Like the proverbial “young Turks”—meaning “young progressive or insurgent member of an institution, movement, or political party”—The Young Turks shows how an independent network can beat corporate news at its own game.

Below, watch the Young Turks discuss a recent Fox News interview with Dick Cheney.

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Kali Swenson wrote this article for The Power of Story, the Summer 2014 issue of YES! Magazine. Kali is a YES! editorial intern.

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