What "No Kings Protest" Shows Us About News Today
What I Learned Watching Don Lemon, Jim Acosta, Nick Valencia and Others LIVE Online this Week
SOTVO is officially my weekly newsletter name under the (ON CAM) Ready Media umbrella.
Since February I have I found myself consuming YouTube, Podcasts, SUBSTACKs and TikToks more than Network or Cable News. It has opened my eyes to the true future of media and I plan to continue helping you become on-camera ready by sharing my take.
As a television news veteran with experience across CNN and Fox News Channel, I bring an expertise to the table that I can no longer silence. If I tell my entreprenuerial clients to embrace their voices, I need to do the same… So LET’S GO! (as my son would say)
(ON CAM) Ready Staples
Think Like a Producer: I am still taking Guest Contributions, Interviews and Essays! So keep them coming. Submit to hello@oncamready.com
Hire a Producer: I will also continue to highlight JOB opportunities in New Media as I see them or am informed about them!
Unknown to Known: Working on this podcast. I am still taking guest applications and am looking for YOU to submit guest questions!! Email hello@oncamready.com or USE these links!
SOT (Sound on Tape - Video of you asking a question) Submission
What I Learned Watching No King’s Protests on YouTube
I’m new to subscribing to YouTube and podcast hosts. If you look at my Apple podcasts I don’t even follow the podcasts I’ve produced.
However, like when I cut cable and let the news leak into my life online, I am slowly starting to organically follow podcasts but mostly on YouTube.
Now, as a business owner spending more hours at my desk or in the car driving to clients, I’ve fully leaned into this space—for news, commentary, and creative inspiration.
Since I’m finding my people and shows, I figured… why not share what’s resonating?
While on Instagram I saw
with The Ankler pop into my feed with the headline, “YouTube if playing to win TV News.” After watching coverage of the No King Protests I realized its true potential.YouTube is what I envisioned linear news becoming on streaming: LIVE & Community Building.
You could describe it as LIVE ACTION.
Live breaking news was always my specialty in cable news. Seeing the live coverage of these events on YouTube? A whole new level.
In cable, we were trained to keep the air clean—no black screens, no unprepared guests, always polished and camera-ready.
But on YouTube?
All of that goes out the window. And it should.
As a viewer, I now crave the unexpected, the raw energy, the real-time messiness of the moment. Give me real people over rehearsed talking heads any day.
After 15+ years inside live control rooms, I still want to leave each show transformed.
For Example:
and streamed the protests live, and I was glued.
Not because I lean a particular way politically, but because I’m a producer.
I was blown away by how they navigated on-the-fly tech issues—guests popping in upside down, audio blips, overlapping lives. Whatever software they used… I need it. (Don, if you see this, DM me. Seriously.)
What stood out was how they owned the moment as pros, but in a whole new space. Their commentary felt intentional. The YouTube live chat stayed ignited.
THIS is the type of programming I once pitched to linear TV—audience interaction, clickable sources, real-time conversation.
In today’s media experience, we’re watching live, while another tab’s open with social media, and maybe another with work. The TV is our computer. And when a show is live - We feel part of it.
Every show I watch or listen to now leaves me transformed.
As a producer, I’m absorbing the tech and strategy. But I can see others walking away with trust in the source, a new perspective, or ideas worth exploring.
Hands down, this broadcast was a hit—and one I hope to produce myself someday.
And as an independent creator—I can.
I wasn’t the only one who felt it. @crystalmurray351 nailed it with this YouTube comment:
“This was the Avengers of independent journalism. I felt like I was on the ground everywhere.”
I highly recommend keeping an eye on what and do next. Expert journalists in this independent space is compelling.
That brings me to YOU!
With podcasts, YouTube shows, and reporters going live on TikTok, like
There are MORE opportunities for experts to earn press and become on-camera commentators!HEADLINE WRITING: Think Like a News Producer
NPR’s Heard on Weekend Edition Sunday the headline instantly made me feel apart of the conversation by addressing the “split screen,” writing, “Protest and parade: The view from both sides of a split-screen moment.”
It immediately placed me inside the story by using a classic television term—split screen—to frame two simultaneous, conflicting narratives. Smart. Familiar. Visual.
The team at Pod Save America also delivered a headline and thumbnail that worked like a TV tease: “Trump’s Parade Upstaged by MASSIVE No Kings Protest.”
It's bold, visual, and makes you want to press play. Their thumbnail sealed the deal.
It drew me in because I could hear a friend say the words I was reading.
Despite barely knowing them I was sucked into listening to their thoughts on the split-screen events. Why? Because they brought me into their conversation. I went from being told the news to feeling like I was listening to two friends talk about it. It was engaging.
When writing headlines, be specific and audience-aware—but also intriguing.
Don’t just describe what happened. Tease the tension.
For YouTube, create a thumbnail template that’s bold, readable, and branded. Visual consistency builds audience trust and makes your channel feel intentional and polished—like a network would.
Another show covering the protests provided a clever and humorous take on the split screen events: Sanity with and
The two of them thrive in a live situation. Both adding context and commentary. They bring the energy of their curvy couch days. (A Fox & Friends reference). Dave’s soundbites also brought me back to my Gutfeld! days.
Alisyn and Dave, like myself, both worked at Fox News Channel and CNN, so they bring a media expertise unlike most. There commentary was engaging in this format and somewhat freeing.
In television news a conversation like this would have been limited by commercial breaks. We would have wrapped this chat after 4 minutes. I feel myself wanting to discuss commercials but I will hold that for another week.
In the meantime, do check out Sanity on YouTube and your podcast platform of choice.
Need help producing your podcast or YouTube channel? Want an Executive Producer’s eye on your content strategy?
Reach out. That’s what I do.
P.S. I learned how to Line Produce at Fox News Channel on Gutfeld and Fox & Friends Weekends.
TAG: How to Lean Into the Media
You have a choice.
Keep things the same—or push yourself to show up on camera and potentially change your future.
If you're a political or culture expert, now’s the time to start.
Launch on Substack, or ease in with platforms like X, YouTube Shorts, LinkedIn, or TikTok. Share your perspective on camera.
You never know who’s watching.
If your background, delivery, and insight align with what producers are looking for, someone like me might flag you for an upcoming segment—or add you to a short list for future shows.
Don’t wait for permission. Start publishing.
I am about to lean into this there and finally embrace my own voice.
Finding your voice isn’t easy.
I am on a similar path.
Always being behind the scenes I know understand how important it is to weigh-in online if I want to gain trust from my own audience.
TAG me if you share commentary and if good I will happily flag you to others in media.
Best of luck!