ABOUT MEDIA MASTERS
Lily Roberti
My name is Lily! I’m a co-host of the Media Masters podcast, and studying media in all its forms is one of my passions. I have been consuming YouTube content since I was very young, and I am interested in studying how the platform is ubiquitous today, being used for almost everything. Particularly, my interests lie in how the creation of YouTube challenged large media corporations in and after 2005, and how the formation of the individual content-creator economy democratized information and news. This podcast was a wonderful chance for me to explore that. Additionally, YouTube is one of my main sources of casual entertainment outside of news. I enjoy reaction videos, debate-style videos, social experiments, and content about makeup and fashion. I appreciate all of the ways creators use the platform, and researching YouTube’s profound effect on pop culture for this podcast was very eye-opening for me.
Cassidy Bray
Hi! My name is Cassidy. I’m a co-host of the Media Masters Podcast. YouTube is something that has been a part of my life for a very long time now. I grew up watching YouTube just about everyday. This probably started when I was around 6. I used to watch funny compilation videos with my mom when I was really young, before I had my own phone. As I got older and got my own devices, I would watch gaming videos everyday after I was done with school. It was something that helped me relax after stressful days. I continue to use it pretty often and while the type of content that I watch has definitely changed over time, it still allows me to wind down and relax. It has been really fun to learn more about YouTube since I’ve been using it for so long, and I hope what we found is just as interesting for you too!
Gabe Avalos
Yo, my name is Gabriel, but people call me Gabe for short. I’m one of the four co-hosts of the Media Masters podcast. YouTube has been a large part of my life ever since I first stumbled upon my iPad. A significant part of that was the availability of music on YouTube, not just professional releases and music videos, but also fan-made songs, parody songs, and small, homemade songs posted on the platform. A lot of my childhood memories of the time were songs that revolved around video games, or comedic songs, or how my family would use to play music at parties. There was also the trend of people making lip-syncing videos of popular songs like Smosh. With this podcast, I can really dive deep into how much YouTube has benefited music and how music has changed to work with YouTube.
Bella Vallone
Hello! My name is Bella and I am one of the co-host on the Media Masters Podcast. Social media has always been something that I have been attracted to.. Growing up I would always be asking for my moms phone to play games or most of the time I wanted to watch toy videos when I was bored. She would always pull up YouTube for me to watch my videos on. I grew up with YouTube as the platform that I would use when I was bored and wanted entertainment. To this day, that is still the case. I also now use it as a way to just get my mind off things when I am anxious or a tool to make me laugh when I am sad. I feel I am on YouTube everyday but when I think about YouTube itself I do not know much about it. This podcast was a way for me to dive deeper into something that I grew up with and that I continue to use. I was able to research and find out information that I had no idea about. This podcast was such a fun project and I hope you all enjoy it!