Are We Killing TLDR US?

We discuss the future of TLDR US and why the channel hasn't been getting as much love recently.

OPINIONATED

[jackcassidy]

Honestly I think doing more non headliner stories would be good. Talking about stuff that’s important and current but just stuff that’s not being done to death on every network

[sonbulan]

I go to this channel for US news **because** of the geographical distance. Not being US based gives a unique perspective that’s less tainted by American hyperpartisanship; in other words, you guys have less of a stake in American politics. That kinda of rare outlook deserves longevity and it’s own dedicated community.

[seamusoneill]

As an American myself, my best guess for why TLDR US has lagged behind other channels (I've observed this in real time, since I started watched TLDR US and TLDR EU regularly in early 2021) simply comes down to media saturation.

The U.S. is has a massive domestic media market -- indeed, 3/4 of all native English speakers are located in the United States. We already get so much content about the big stories of the day from other media, both traditional (The New York Times, CNN, ABC, NBC, Politico, take your pick) and digital, like Vox, Vice, etc. Still, you guys do an excellent job presenting both sides, a rarity these days, without equating them.

Since, as other commenters have pointed out, such a larger share of the viewers of ALL your channels are Americans, there are basically two things you could do here:

1. As some other people have suggested, start doing more in-depth content. Part of what makes TLDR EU and TLDR Global so great is that we get a look behind the headlines. For instance, China's high speed railway project into Tibet and "Why Greece's Economy is Still Failing" make for very informative videos because they covered fascinating and important topics overlooked in the day-to-day rush of news, and because they answered questions we always wondered about but never had answered (a la Greece) or answered questions we never even knew we had (a la Chinese trains).

Doing that for the U.S. might look something like making a video on how tensions with China have affected foreign exchange students in U.S. universities, or looking into why some states in seemingly inhospitable regions (like Florida and Arizona) are growing, when others (like New York and Illinois) are stagnant.

2. Another possibility is broadening the region of the channel. These days, aside from often factually inaccurate debates about immigration, very few people discuss the links between the United States and the rest of the American continent. Expanding the channel to "TLDR Americas, " covering both North and South America, would add to the amount of content you could produce and introduce other major countries, such as Mexico and Brazil, into the equation. This would obviously make "TLDR Global" more like "TLDR Afro-Eurasia, " but including Latin America in the former US Channel and exploring, say, US-Mexican relations today or the Brazilian election or the militarization of the Canadian Arctic would give viewers a lot of content they simply wouldn't get anywhere else.

This is a long answer, so here's my TLDR: 

--go beyond the headlines within the U.S.

--or start looking at the U.S. in the context of the rest of North and South America,  i.e. create TLDR Americas

Either/both would bring content viewers couldn't get from conventional domestic U.S. outlets, both traditional and digital.

[IPP]

As an American and a Nebula subscriber, I would be very sad to see the US channel retire. This is a heartfelt comment about how much this channel has improved my life.

I gave up watching the news around 2012 for my mental health. I was in the process of cutting out ads and cable TV, and none of the online news options worked for me. They all just made me feel anxious and outraged, not informed. Not to mention ads were everywhere. As someone with severe enough mental issues that I have been on disability and hospitalized multiple times, this decision was one of the best I have ever made.

TLDR has gotten me back into the real world, after living under a rock for almost a decade, without making my mental health worse. Your shows allow me to live a normal life without sacrificing my health. I can't thank you enough for bringing me simple, straightforward info (especially including "we don't know yet"s) about what's going on in the world.

I understand you have to do what's best for you and for the majority of your audience, but I will sorely miss the US channel, if you retire it. Your videos give me the ability to talk to friends about current events and participate in voting and local politics with at least some reliable information. Since I am American, the US channel has been the most important and relevant to me. With the pandemic, your work is even more vital. Both my social life and my mental health have been hurt by COVID. You giving me that connection back to society has truly been a godsend.

I don't expect there are many viewers in my position. I'm just one person dealing with my personal issues. But I want you guys to know, especially the US team, how much your work has meant to me. I'm sure it must be discouraging to work hard on content only to see a fraction of the views and likes the other channels get, but your videos have really made a difference in my life.

I will remain a loyal subscriber to all of the TLDR channels regardless of what happens with the US channel, but I will feel the drop in US news content in my life. I will certainly do my part to spread the word about this news source, but I don't exactly have a lot of people I can reach. I hope you all see the numbers turn around, but even if that doesn't happen, I'm grateful for everything you've given me.

[Bigdog]

This channel is some of the most easily accessible, unbiased information given about prominent US issues... Please don't take away our channel 😪

[robbieflores]

Please don't kill this channel 😭
I love your objective and unbiased news of the US.

[MikeyTK]

Let's keep this channel alive.
Like some people have commented, there are not many "neutral" US politics channels. One reason might be that there are other channels focusing on US politics.

[georgewojcik]

So as an American political junkie and and TLDR fan, I always kind of got the impression that I wasn’t the intended audience for TLDR US— I felt like it was a great resource for someone outside the US looking in. That said, that same perspective is why I love TLDR UK, EU, and Global, where you guys aren’t afraid to explain in detail things that don’t necessarily make sense to an outsider, so maybe I really am not the target audience here 😅. One thing I’ve noticed on TLDR US’s content is that it seems even more focused on elections and outcomes than your other channels though— personally I’d love more stories that discuss things like the challenges facing the US domestic economy (which faces similar, but not identical, pressures to those facing Europe and the UK) or discussions about the issues with policing and race relations in the US, rather than almost exclusively discussing election chances for various candidates and conjecturing about different 2024 presidential prospects— we get enough of that with our domestic news sources.

[Heru]

I would second the suggestions to make TLDR US into a TLDR Americas channel. Cover everything in North and South America on it. The US news market alone, even on YouTube, is massively oversaturated but with a wider focus on more underserved markets i have no doubt it would breakthrough.

[cookiespark]

please dont stop tldr us i need an unbiased tldr of what's happening here

[andrewb]

I hope you don't have to shut down.
As a US Citizen, this channel was one of my primary sources for balanced news about the 2020 election. And along with LegalEagle, one of my primary sources for news and balanced commentary on the fracas leading up to January 6.

[SAGE]

I hope that this channel survives and flourishes, as I find it difficult to find non-biased content about US News.

[sorosw]

Honestly several of the past few videos more or less feel like summary of 538. A while ago I just decided to get my news from 538 directly. They have weekly podcast and update their election forecast every weekday. Other topics covered here were also covered by other YouTube channels that gives more in-depth explanations (probably because they are in the field).

It’s really sad that TLDR US isn’t showing more growth. Two years ago when the channel get started, this channel is my primary source for getting news because it’s nonpartisan, but now I find lots of alternatives and feel like the channel isn’t offering enough new informations.

[gabrielsoto]

I guess that what could be a long term project is a TLDR Americas channel, where you can upload news pertaining to all of the American continent. A lot of things happen in Latin America that I think viewers like me (Latin Americans living in the west) would really engage with. You could justify putting US news there instead of the global channel since it’s part of the Americas anyways.

But I know that’s a long term project and you’d need more resources than what you have at the moment, including more writers and researchers. I’m not expecting it this year or even next year, but I do think that a channel with more Latin American news would be a great addition to the TLDR network!

[MRMixedup]

As a European i find this channel as one of if not the easiest sources to find out without too many complications what's happening across the Atlantic, I will try my best to watch every video you upload until the deadline to try and support the channel as i really want to see it survive, To try and help i can give you some ideas:
1. A video series exploring each possible republican candidate in the 2024 election, what they believe in and what they bring to the table (each video covers one or two candidates)

2.A video on what candidates could replace Biden in the future at the democratic party

3.Cultural videos exploring for ex: the difference between north and south or west coast and east coast or unique things like "does America have it's own unique cuisine"

4. A video series exploring different presidents and administrations, with things they may have done right and/or wrong.

5.More coverage on smaller parties like the libertarians and Andrew Yang's new project

6.Exploring different factions inside the big 2 parties ex: the democrats with the more progressive faction and the GOP with the anti Trump republicans.

That's all i have for now interms of video ideas but for more advice i would suggest like: Hire an American writer/presenter as other comments have suggested (it always helps to have knowledge from a local), promote TLDR US on things like Tiktok, Reels and Shorts, make pre-scheduled premiers so there would be some hype before hand (this could play in with the previous point)

and if this "last chance" ends up failing you always have the option of expanding the channel to something like "TLDR North America" giving you a whole host of new topics to explore, instead of ending it.

[mariolis]

I think that is because there is a TON of channels telling US-News but a lot fewer doing the same basically everywhere else

and that is where all your other channels come in, EU, UK, Global, etc...

Its no wonder that the US Channel lags behind

[oldsoldier]

As strange as it may sound, I'm betting that a large portion of your viewership on all channels is American. Seeing as how you're located in the UK, you're able to report quickly and accurately on happenings there, as well as in the EU. Meanwhile, by the time you release stories on things in the USA, we've already heard the details a dozen times from our own local sources. While I personally appreciate the different perspective you often bring to situations in my country, many others likely have moved on to the next event before you post a video. Situations here evolve and change rapidly, and the attention of people shifts just as fast. Our own sources are just better positioned to keep up with things. Meanwhile, those same sources tend to give minimal information on matters outside our own country, giving us good reason to seek sources closer to those events. My advice would be to shift focus a bit on this channel. Instead of being forever 1 step behind on current events, go deeper into the changes that lead up to them. Discuss the origins and core values of our political parties, and track trends over time. Help us to see the bigger picture of how we got here, and maybe some of our options going forward. 🤠👍

[aitruscolso]

I unfortunately have no advice for how to improve, but just wanted to say as an American that I’ve always enjoyed your content and perspective on US stories. I’ll continue to do what I can to support, and hope that things improve, but I’ll continue watching either way.

[UGMD]

My favorite video on the channel is the Ossoff one since it brought a unique perspective onto an issue that YouTubers mostly just complain about. You guys introduced the topic fairly neutrally and got an interesting interview with an important person. I’d imagine that doing stuff like that consistently would be impossible, but I believe that more especially high quality journalism like that could improve the channel.

[velozio]

Please don't kill this channel. Not enough unbiased news on US politics exist these days