Even though YouTube is a forum for public debate to only a limited extent due to its censorship, it still provides a new, interesting way of reaching the masses. YouTube is often seen as a paragon of civic media in how anyone regardless of social standing can make their voice heard and as the site's slogan states, broadcast themselves. So what better way to involve the great majority of apolitical citizens than by creating a political outlet within an entertainment one like YouTube? The normal medium of news and magazines as a way to keep people politically aloof has failed and society is being forced to search for innovative ways to draw the average American into the political sphere. Allowing citizens to submit their own video questions from their own homes adds a sense of grassroots authenticity to televised political debates that often seem out of touch with the reality of the common man.
But, in the end, it falls short of civic media because civic media isn't truly civic if it is being monitored by a conglomerate news network that may have political supporters to kowtow to. Censorship strips the YouTube debates of its authenticity and eliminates its validity as a gateway into the true heart of America. CNN is free to select the questions that would be the least controversial, the easier questions the candidates would want to answer. Instead of being an uninterrupted channel of the common American's attempt at participating in a democracy, it becomes a pseudo civic media where political convenience takes precedence over the public's true concern. Despite its failings, it still is a manifestation of the need for a new public venue where the indifferent masses can inject their beliefs into mainstream politics.
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