The Young Turks: From News to Entertainment

The Young Turks, commonly referred to as TYT, is the most popular news channel on YouTube, Hulu, Marker Television, website, Pluto Television among other venues targeting people of all ages, races and interests. It is an all rounded show that has over 35 channels straddling religion, philosophy, sports, technology, politics, film, college life and a dozen other areas. The network generally attracts over 75 million monthly views and has over 3M subscribers. It has therefore expanded into an entire digital network. It is a diversified source of news attracting the young and the old. Notably, the political and social coverage attracts approximately 37M viewers monthly. What began as a mere flagship show has developed into a humongous multi-channel network.

If this sample essay on"The Young Turks: From News to Entertainment" doesn’t help,
our writers will!

Trust an expert

The network is mainly hosted by two impeccable individuals Cenk Uygur, who is the Chief Executive Officer of the Young Turks and his fascinating, Armenian-American journalist co-host Ms. Ana Kasparian. The show basically sourced its name from an English phrase Young Turk which refers to rebellious or reformist members of a certain institution, movement or even of a certain political party. It began in 2002 and as a radio show in which Cenk was the main host in conjunction with Dave Koller and Jike Pike. The Young Turks first came online in 2005 and then launched its Facebook page in the year 2010 after having aired with XM/Sirus for about a year. This was just the beginning of its entry into the digital world. It was then aired in different platforms like the Air America, MSNBC and current TV. The show has featured many celebrities such as Robert Greenwald and aired adverts for highly ranked companies such as the Brave New Films ("The Young Turks LIVE - TYT Network"). In 2013, the show upgraded to having its episodes being made available even on YouTube and also managed to launch its shows on Roku channel. In 2014 the channel launched on Hulu network, a big step towards a wider coverage. The Young Turks are currently eyeing the launching of native applications for iOS and android in the future.

Financial Status

The Young Turks got yearly revenue worth approximately U.S $ 2.98 million from its website as per the year 2013. This revenue is majorly from its subscribers and the adverts aired through it channel and website as well as through YouTube. Approximately 60% of the revenues come from YouTube advertisements, about 25% of the subscribers and the rest from merchandise. TYT also receives its funds from big companies which invest in the channel and this keeps them going. For instance, it received a U.S $ 4 million investment from a private equity firm led by Buddy Roemer the former Louisiana Governor back in 2014. According to Cenk their revenue has grown substantially over the years (Quigley).

Major Platform

The Young Turks mainly rely on YouTube as the main broadcasting platform for the eighth year now. The basic argument here is that YouTube has become the current television. YouTube is the booming site to broadcast since it has an overwhelmingly huge audience. Therefore, it acts as the most convenient way to reach out to the target audience. Furthermore, internet has become a common trend in the world and is the best basis of reaching out or spreading a word on a global level ("The Young Turks Is Running Circles around News Networks on You Tube - Digiday"). Cenk says that TYT are the number one news channel on YouTube, and though there may be some shortcomings like the revenue share associated with the media, YouTube offers the most conducive environment for spreading news over other social networks (Quigley). Some of the advantages with YouTube are that they are responsive to complaints and concerns from their clients and the use of the media is governed by simple rules which seldom change.

Target Audience

The Young Turks has most of its audience constituting the youths (75%) who are under 35 years of age. Also the audience constitutes the old about 63 years old, though these are mainly attracted to the MSNBC television, which is an old school cable broadcast. The audience is thus majorly constituted of the young people ("The Young Turks Is Running Circles around News Networks on You Tube - Digiday"). The main reason is that most young people spend a lot of time online and thus end up using YouTube and thus accessing the news from there. Also, due to the fact that technology has seen to it that people can easily access internet even using their phones, most people with smart phones simply get access to YouTube and thus mostly watch the Young Turks channel easily. Basically, those accessing the channel are the youth. But still it is clear that the channel targets the whole audience, regardless of the age bracket and hence the defining factor of who accesses the channel is majorly a matter of preference of the audience and The Young Turks ensure that they are diverse enough to meet the needs and preferences of nearly all the audience out there.

Tactics

The Young Turks has established the best tactics to grow its audience online is first of all ensuring that you air the hottest of news, those that captivate the general audience. The news that will neither sucks nor bores the audience ("What Is the General Opinion of the Young Turks (TYT) News Commentary? - Quora"). The network also ensures that it only employs hosts of the highest caliber. Those hosts that passionately tell stories to the audience easily capture the audience by how they carry themselves. They are able to create attachments with the audience and thus the audience will always look forward to their shows. Passion is all that an exceptional host requires and that is what TYT ensures in its broadcasts.

The network also ensures that it offers a good mashup of entertainment and infotainment. The mash up ensures that TYT attracts an audience with all preferences. It hosts a hybrid of serious politics and hilarious comedy showcasing great comedians like a funny man Jamie Kennedy, showcasing tales such as that of serial goat rape and also epic fails such as the Buzzfeeds 27 questions black people have for black people ("The Young Turks Receive $4 Million To Expand Shows And Syndicate Across The Web"). This ensures that the network is able to keep in check its audience especially the young people.

TYT also maintains a high profile by ensuring that it acquires almost 90% of its funds from the general public that is the viewers. This ensures that the network maintains a bold anti-corporate image which ensures that it links directly to its viewers. For instance, a $10 monthly subscription model offers the election coverage, behind the scenes extras, and high profile interviews presidential candidates.

Authenticity and Integrity

The Young Turks have a trait of encouraging and airing authentic news. They show integrity in their broadcasts. To ensure this, the TYT has their hosts sharing even to the personal level. For instance Kasparian shared her engagement to her fiance and the challenges that one experiences by becoming a woman who is expected to be both a mother and a wife. By so doing, they are able to keep their audience closer even as the audience gets to know them more. Moreover, this ensures that the audience gets to learn from them and their lives whereby an example is when they both (Cenk and Kasparian) offered advice on relationships and dating to the viewers ("The Young Turks - Rationalwiki").

Conclusion

To sum it all up, The Young Turks is a reality television network that has a diversified coverage from news to entertainment. It has dominated YouTube platform for its broadcasts. The main target constitutes the young people in the digital television and YouTube and the elderly people taking a bigger portion in the cable network broadcasts. The young are the major target audience since they are most active online and are the biggest users of YouTube. The media is advantageous since it is accessible to the majority of the people in the world who have access to the internet. TNT has also adopted a good culture employing several strategic tactics which are aimed at providing the best and authentic news and information to the members of public. It also ensures maximum benefits to the public of what they showcase; it provides a wide range of news and shows which range from being serious to being hilarious.

Work Cited

Quigley, Chaaz. "5 Reasons You Should Be Watching "The Young Turks" | Unicorn Booty". Unicorn Booty. N.p., 2016. Web. 1 June 2016.

"The Young Turks - Rationalwiki". Rationalwiki.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 1 June 2016."The Young Turks Is Running Circles Around News Networks On Youtube - Digiday". Digiday. N.p., 2014. Web. 31 May 2016.

"The Young Turks Receive $4 Million To Expand Shows And Syndicate Across The Web". Built In Los Angeles. N.p., 2014. Web. 1 June 2016.

"What Is The General Opinion Of The Young Turks (TYT) News Commentary? - Quora". Quora.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 1 June 2016.

"The Young Turks LIVE - TYT Network". TYT Network. N.p., 2016. Web. 1 June 2016.