All Gas, No Breaks

ALL GAS NO BRAKES

Pushing Down on The Pedal of Journalism

In 2021, our world looks more similar to Blade Runner than the 1980s’. Our technology is moving faster than your grandma’s Lenovo PC, and with the ever-changing levels of tech, the industries that rely on them have to move pretty fast too.

When everyone else was boarding the train to digitalism, the journalism industry was still running to the platform. Even though they made it in the end, it took a while for journalists to fnd their footing and place within this new world. Even though mainstream news platforms such as Time Magazine, the New York Times, and the Guardian are digitally releasing almost all of their content, they’re still getting left behind in the dust.

In the past years we have witnessed rapid change in journalism and the cookie-cutter method it has followed for centuries. Not only are more publications and articles reaching a completely digital standpoint, we’re also witnessing what I believe is the greatest turnaround for journalism ever: the age of video journalism. Video journalism is exactly what it sounds like: people reporting on current afairs and issues in short video documentary form. With the surge of platforms such as YouTube, Vine, and TikTok growing in popularity, short videos of almost anything are the most exciting thing on the internet, and in the wake of the political nightmare universe that we call 2021, people want to know what’s going on. With only twenty four videos and over 90 million total views, All Gas No Brakes is dominating modern journalism with his crass, fast paced and gritty interviews with “America’s underbelly”: and America’s underbelly, they certainly are. Whether he’s going to the depths of places such as Burning Man Festival, a Proud Boys rally, Flat Earth conferences, or simply just Florida, Andrew Callaghan, the brains and face of All Gas No Brakes takes us on a journey of refection and self discovery.

All Gas No Brakes started with Andrew Callaghan donning an oversized thrifted suit, grabbing a cheap microphone, and heading to Bourbon Street, New Orleans to navigate and document the night time wildlife. After gaining popularity for his man-on-the-street style interviews, a campervan and three new members of All Gas No Brakes were thrown into the mix: and All Gas No Brakes reached its fnal evolution. After gaining speed and subscribers, Andrew began to slowly transition his locations from more gimecky coverages such as AlienCon, and the 2019 Area 51 Raid, to more serious subject matters such as Trump rallies, anti-lockdown events, and BLM protests. His deeper and grittier content racked up double the amount of views that his previous work was receiving. He started attending more protests, fought back against hate speech that was spewing from the interviewees, and created his own podcast.

All Gas No Brakes now has a new home on Channel 5 News following a hiatus after being fred by their network. In a short time span, All Gas No Breaks has already left tire tracks in the meida, and a wave of new creators are following in their footsteps. Not only are independant journalists saturating the market, but even some of those multi-million dollar companies that refused to budge are publishin their own videos such as Vice and the Washington Post. All Gas No Brakes has given the journalism industry the tug out of the ditch it needed, and is towing it of into the sunset. Written by Freya James