A few miles downtown from the shiny headquarters of CNN Worldwide in Manhattan sits a grimy warehouse space housing a startup company called Beme. PLEASE DO NOT RING THE BELL UNLESS YOU HAVE OFFICIAL BUSINESS HERE, reads a handwritten note taped above the buzzer, because all kinds of adorers show up here with cameras looking for Casey Neistat, the square-jawed YouTube star turned media entrepreneur who cofounded Beme and whose 7.5 million subscribers and 1.5 billion video views convinced CNN to pay a reported $25 million last year for his company.

Neistat is a 36-year-old high-school dropout who had a child at 17, bounced around the art and advertising worlds, landed a quickly canceled HBO diary show in 2008, and, finally, gained a rabid following ("high engagement," in digital-media-speak) for his cheeky and well-produced YouTube videos explaining such topics as when to use the emergency brake on the New York City subway and how to take a shower in the first-class cabin of a transatlantic flight.

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Before selling to CNN, Beme had created a Snapchat-like social media app that was becoming popular. After the purchase, CNN shut it down. It didn't want the app. It wanted Neistat and his team to figure out the future of news. Even as cable executives feast on the ratings and profits of the Trump phenomenon, they see the terrifying trends: The average CNN viewer is 60 (Fox News' is older); people are watching their phones, not their TVs; and when they do watch, they increasingly don't trust what they see.

Neistat, who rides a skateboard to work and wears backward hats, is seen as better able to figure out what young people want to watch and how they want to watch it than anyone in the glass tower at CNN. He may represent one of the last hopes to save television news from itself.

Danny Clinch

Thursday, 2 p.m. Neistat offers a compressed green juice and pulls up a chair at a schoolyard table in the center of a sparse communal work space.

Popular Mechanics: So why did CNN spend so much money on your company?

Casey Neistat [chuckling]: CNN's a media company, and they have tremendous technology. But all that technology does is further disseminate their media. Written, print, photography, and video. Their app is another way you can consume that. They're not how we're approaching the marriage between technology and media. And the best example I can give to you right now is an app we've made called Panels. Where Fox News or CNN or MSNBC would want to take a topic with a diverse number of opinions and perspectives around it, they would throw it to a group of older, typically men, wearing suits, who sort of pontificate around that point.

PM: Right. The panels.

CN: It's always the same people. There's a reason why that's become institutionalized: because it's effective. But that's not interesting for us. So we built a digital product, an app, that people can download, that we populate with subject lines all the time—an individual subject line that we might be talking about on our news show. And then everybody who owns that app sees that. [Yells] Hey, Jack? You have the latest build of Panels on your phone?

A T-shirted 20-something appears with an iPhone that shows people sharing video opinions on news of the day.

Jack: These are the, like, topic questions.

Jack clicks on a subject titled "McGregor-Floyd Mayweather Fight" and a video of a young man appears.

Video: I've been trying to make a bet in the office for the Conor McGregor-Floyd Mayweather fight . . . I have $200 on McGregor . . . nobody's taken the bet yet . . . so my question is . . . who would you have your money on, for this fight?

CN: So, it's right to the next one.

A shadowed military-looking dude with a high-and-tight haircut appears.

Video: Probably Mayweather, because he's the master of not getting hit. But if he gets hit . . .

CN: And then we have—there's a poll you can take. So all of a sudden, this isn't about consumption. Once we send this out publicly, if we're getting tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of downloads—which I think we can do—we're able to crowdsource subject matter around news that not just informs the way that we report on it, but informs how and what we're sharing to people who otherwise feel largely ignored. Because those middle-aged people you see wearing suits on TV—I have no relationship with them! They look like my uncle, who I don't understand, who has bad breath.

PM: So you consider that a news product?

CN: I mean, I don't really know what a news product is. I'm a high-school dropout, not a journalist. But to me, the problem we're trying to solve here is, you have an entire demographic that's consuming media at a higher rate than any time in history, and you have an entire demographic that's further disenfranchised with the news and media and politics and the things that actually affect the world around them—arguably greater than they've ever been disenfranchised in history. How do we address those two issues? Whether you call it a news product or not, it's exciting.

PM: But for better or worse, CNN is professionally produced journalism. When you see Anderson Cooper on TV, there's a team of professionals behind him, and there's 20 years of his experience presenting you with the facts. I don't know who those people are on your app.

CN: Sure, but no one's presenting those people as journalists—the same way one wouldn't present the eight panelists behind Anderson Cooper.

PM: But they've been vetted, at least. The question is: Do young people care about whether they're getting news from Cooper or the people on your app?

CN: Well, they're not getting it from Anderson Cooper, so that should answer your question.

PM: Right.

CN: What's the average age of the CNN viewer? You know the answer.

PM: I see your point: They're already not, so why not give them something that they are interested in.

CN: We don't consider those contributors journalists any more than someone would consider Kellyanne Conway a journalist. She's a contributor offering her perspective on a matter. Now, the news that we present from our team is news that's backed and researched by experienced, extremely well-versed journalists that are sitting downstairs right now researching our next story.

PM: So, what is the plan for your journalism?

CN: I still haven't answered your larger question of why me.

PM: Right. Keep that going.

CN: Yeah, no problem. So, I think what my daily [YouTube] show—which is 800 episodes in—has demonstrated is an ability to connect with an audience around a range of topics, from very personal issues to a tongue-in-cheek technology review to something more serious. And the reason people are engaged with the content I make is 'cause they're invested in me as an individual.

PM: You're compelling. When you're in that airplane shower, it's fun to watch.

CN [pauses]: Thank you.

PM: That sounded weird.

CN: Yeah, superw—

PM: When you hear that you're the future of news, how do you feel?

CN: Well I've never said that.

PM: But others say it about you.

CN: I push back against that. Aggressively. We're certainly not trying to be the future of news. I think that's a horrible North Star to go after. We're trying to build a YouTube channel that people might like. So if you want my cover story tagline, it's "Beme News: Trying to build a YouTube channel that people might like." Because that's how we're building this.

PM: Who is your audience?

CN: It's the YouTube generation, which I think is everything from 13- to 34-year-olds that don't watch television. My son doesn't watch television. I didn't know I had cable till my wife told me.

PM: But you're not 25, you're 36.

CN: That's exactly right, so that spectrum—

PM: I'm 40, are we the same generation or are we not?

CN: We're definitely not.

PM: Only because I'm wearing a jacket?

CN: That's right, and I have on two T-shirts. No, but I think the spectrum of consumers and viewers is growing—it's getting wider, faster. And it's not just kids. But like, my 19-year-old son, who's come home from his second year in college. I'm like, "Who watches—?" And he's like, "Dad, nobody watches TV." "Okay, but at college, you guys have—" "Nobody has TVs." "So how do you—" "We use our laptops." "What do you watch?" He's like, "YouTube." "What about—" He says, "Sometimes we use whoever's roommate's parents' Netflix account." And I say, "What about news?" And he's like, "I dunno." "Where do you get news?" "I dunno." "Where do you personally get your news?" And he's like, "Twitter and Facebook and Google News." And I'm like, "Okay, CNN?" He's like, "I dunno." "What do they think about CNN?" He's like, "That's fake news." "Okay, why do they think that?" And he's like [exasperated voice], "I dunno, Dad."

It's this disengagement with what you and I would define as both media and news and all that—it's not even on their radar. And I don't mean to generalize and I don't mean to stereotype, but the only thing I have to look at as an example is my own experience. I put one show on HBO. Nobody watches it. Critically acclaimed! Nobody watches it. I put that same exact show on YouTube, and it gets 4 million views in a day. A day, not a week, a day. Seven days a week, 31 days a month. That was the numbers my daily show did before I ended season one.

PM: What makes something viral?

CN: Well, if you know the answer to that question, I will write you a check for the recipe.

PM: But you know better than I do.

CN: I do. I do. But I've still had more misses than hits when it comes to virality. I think that there's a great mythology around virality. But I prefer to talk about engagement instead of virality, 'cause I think it's impossible to predict what "viral" actually means. Or how to accomplish viral. But I think when it comes to like, how do you build something that's of tremendous engagement, that does get shared—is by sharing something with people they didn't otherwise already know. And I think when it comes to news, the opportunity to share with people things that they don't already know is great. But then you have to combine that with a medium of distribution that is palatable.

PM: What does that mean?

CN: It's like, if you really care about a first-class seat on Emirates, you can go to Emirates.com and see what that seat looks like, but you don't give a sh*t, you're not going to look at that. But you see a video of a guy who doesn't really like caviar with his hat on backward who's just as excited as you might be in that position, and all of a sudden it's palatable, it's fun. Take me along on that ride!

PM: That's just production value. That's quality.

Danny Clinch

CN: Sure. I keep reminding our team downstairs—we're not making documentaries, this isn't talking-head journalism. We're making YouTube videos, they need to be dynamic. They need to be fast-moving, they need to be engaging. They need to be honest, and they need to be straightforward. We cannot bullsh*t this audience. They will find that bullsh*t from a mile away and they will destroy you for it. And I think you can apply that formula to what we're doing in the news. I do think we're gonna hit on stories that are going to be such wild moments of "I wish I'd known that," presented in such a way that is engaging and palatable that they will have the potential to go way beyond our core audience. And that's what virality is.

PM: What do you make of the fake news debate?

CN: I think it's frustrating. I remember the first time I heard the term "fake news," I put my hands over my face and I was like, "There is no end."

PM: Anyone can weaponize that term.

CN: That's right. You can paint anything with that stroke. I mean obviously, I think anyone who's really spent any time thinking about it objectively defines "fake news" as non-factual information that is intentionally presented as fact. You have discerning audiences, like you and I sitting here both know that false information presented as fact, that's fake and that's fake news. But maybe [for other people] it's news you don't like. Maybe it's news you disagree with. Maybe it's an opinion. And I think that that knows no end, and I think it's very, very dangerous.

PM: So does what you're doing help or hurt that problem? Is it more honest, or is it more susceptible?

CN: If labeling "fake" is a way of dismissing news, the way we want to avoid that altogether is to always have it be personality-driven content. I look at Anderson Cooper, I have a relationship with this guy, I trust him. Jake [Tapper]—I don't always agree with what he's saying, but I have a relationship with him through the screen and I trust him. And that's why 48 percent of my audience hated it when I said I was going to be voting for Hillary Clinton instead of Donald Trump. But they knew me, and they trusted me, and they liked me, and they were like, "Okay, that's his opinion. Doesn't make him wrong, even though I completely disagree with this guy and he's a jerk for not doing what I'm doing"—nobody called that fake. So what we're trying to do is really make it about the people delivering the information.

PM: How would you describe the politics of what you're doing?

CN: We have no political agenda. To the point where, like, honestly, of all the news taking place in the world, politics is not at the top of our list. It's just not. When I think about what this audience is really curious about, it's not those topline things that every single [cable news network] is always talking about, one of the same four things. There's a fatigue on that. And I think that the audience that might turn to us is gonna turn to us 'cause they're sick of that. And if they're not sick of that, they just want some clarity. "Can you just explain to me what the hell they're talking about?" Yes, we can. We're gonna be like, There's something else happening that you should also know about. Did you know there's a state of emergency in Nevada right now 'cause they're out of weed?

"Those middle-aged people you see wearing suits on TV—I have no relationship with them! They look like my uncle, who I don't understand, who has bad breath."

PM: Some say that we've gone from having different kinds of media in a big shared ecosystem—some liberal, some conservative, some respected, some not—to, because of social media, you select your own media, your own message that you want to get. All that does is reinforce your existing worldview. Do you agree?

CN: Yeah. And I think it's extremely dangerous. Nothing underscores the danger of a bubble more than the Facebook news feed. A lot of really smart people that I know get the majority of their understanding of what's taking place in the world from their Facebook news feed. And there've been myriad studies—BuzzFeed did a fantastic one—where all they did was like conservative pages and dislike liberal pages. And what that manifested to over the course of 12 days was truly terrifying. It went so far to the extreme right.

PM: But how do you counter that? People have a natural tendency—

CN: I'm part of that problem! When somebody posts something that supports an issue that I don't agree with, I dislike it, or I X it out, and it disappears. I don't have to deal with it again. I change the channel. I think the fact that technology has turned that into something that is scalable is scary.

PM: So, media in ten years. Will cable news exist as it does now? The panels every night?

CN: The change in the world of media is going to happen at an exponential rate. If you look at what's taken place in retail in the last five years, I think we are about to hit that inflection point. When I see my dad watching news on his cellphone at 65, I know change is about to happen. I expect a homogenization in consumption. What that means is, there's no longer going to be loyalty to Fox News or MSNBC, there's no longer going to be a loyalty to Netflix or YouTube or Hulu or Amazon. "This is the device! On this device I watch media, and I don't really care where it comes from!" If I were the CEO of a big media company that would scare the sh*t out of me.

PM: Do you consider yourself a journalist now?

CN: Absolutely not. I will never wear that hat because I know my role in this world. I hope to present news in an objective, factual, highly engaging way but—

PM: That's actually the definition of a journalist.

CN: Right, but the only reason why I'll be able to do that is because of the people I've surrounded myself with. Not because of my own intelligence or capability.

PM: Printing press, radio, TV, internet, podcasts, social media, apps. What's next?

CN: The ubiquity of high-definition video cameras is going to change the way news is covered to a degree that neither you nor I could sit here and guess.

PM: Right. If cameras are everywhere, what is media?

CN: That's exactly right. The answer to that is how you are able to compartmentalize and then communicate what those cameras everywhere are capturing and seeing.

PM: All right, I think that's all I need.

CN: I feel like I didn't give you anything!

Danny Clinch

PM: What else do you want to give me?

CN: Something we could talk about a little bit more is the understanding of my audience that I was sort of forced to learn and understand because of 800 videos and a billion and a half views on YouTube. When I think of the fact that people travel from around the world to sit outside my office in the hopes of getting a selfie with me, and people crying when they meet me because of my vlog, and me just scratching my head, like, what does this mean? And why? And then you look at the relationship that people have with a Brad Pitt, and you understand the difference between those two. Brad Pitt is a god-like figure, who's not like me. But this YouTuber, who's huge, is exactly like me. And why does that happen? I'm not sure I know the answer, but I think there's an accessibility with internet fame and internet presence, and that accessibility does not exist on cable news. That accessibility does not exist in Hollywood. And it's that accessibility that I hope to bring to news, that will further the audience's—it's very important—this very disenfranchised audience—I hope that they will find a relationship there that is as profound as the relationship that they might have with a vlogger. Or another YouTuber. Because if that divide can be bridged, I think that there's a huge opportunity there to create a dialogue with an audience that right now feels like they don't have a relationship with news at all.

PM: It reminds me of the relationship people had with Jon Stewart. He wasn't a journalist, but what he told his audience, they believed.

CN: Right. And even when people would disagree with him, they still loved him. I think John Oliver's doing a kick-ass job with that right now. I think that they're very smart to release the block [of the show] that they show online. I know that's why my peers have respect for what he's doing, 'cause Monday morning, they're sitting on their cellphones watching what he said and then sharing that out.

PM: They're also not paying $14 a month though to get it.

CN: Sure. But it's not my problem.

PM: There's just so much out there now. Cutting through the clutter is the win.

CN: We are inundated with content. We're staring at screens 70 percent of our waking lives. And it's left us with this opportunity to really dial in on what do we want to consume and what do we not want to consume. That's a very scary place for traditional media. Because there used to be only three channels. So, what do you want to consume? Screw you, it doesn't matter, you got three choices. And then when I was a kid, we had 28 channels. More specifically, we had Nickelodeon and MTV—that was it. You gotta watch their sh*tty commercials, because the only thing on is Real World season 4. That's it. I'll watch your stupid commercials. Now that's not the case anymore. I don't wanna watch it? I don't watch it. And that's certainly the case with news. So how do we make content that people actually want to watch? Well, let's give them people that they care about. You can start with me.

What Casey Uses

• Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 4K mirrorless camera

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• Canon EOS 70D digital SLR camera with 18–135mm STM lens

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The Casey Neistat Primer

"Make It Count": Nike hired him to make a commercial called "Make It Count." Instead he and a friend flew around the world. Which is kind of the same thing.

This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

"Her Water Broke": The world's best vlogger vlogs his daughter's birth. (Not the actual birth.)

This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

"Do What You Can't": Neistat's entire worldview in three minutes and 52 seconds. Classify under: inspirational autobiography.

This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

This story appears in the October 2017 issue.