What would Jim Lehrer Do? Reporting from Vidcon.

[theme music] Up next, a look inside the world of online video with some of the biggest creators and fans colliding in Southern California-- PBS's Steve Goldbloom reports.

[jet engine roaring] JORDAN SMITH (ON PHONE): Stevey, your favorite producer, Uncle Jordan, buddy.

Where the hell are you?

I'm at LAX still.

I thought I told you that.

We're just getting some B-roll of planes and-- JORDAN SMITH (ON PHONE): Why are you getting shots of the plane?

I don't know.

I thought it would be useful to get shots of planes.

JORDAN SMITH (ON PHONE): No, it's not useful at all.

STEVE GOLDBLOOM: Noah keeps saying that we should always be filming.

JORDAN SMITH (ON PHONE): Well, tell Scorsese he can do all the shooting he wants once you get to VidCon.

The project is Vidcon.

STEVE GOLDBLOOM: All right, I'll tell him that.

I mean, he's pushy.

JORDAN SMITH (ON PHONE): Well, Steve, if you do a good job with this, man, PBS is going to be offering you steady work.

But if you don't, you know, I hear C-SPAN is hiring.

STEVE GOLDBLOOM: No, I appreciate it.

We're not going to let you down.

Noah and I are going to head out there now.

He's all set.

He's ready to go.

JORDAN SMITH (ON PHONE): Well, go.

Stop talking to me and go.

I'll talk to you later.

Bye.

OK, all right.

Bye.

Do you want to grab take-out first, Noah?

We know this is what journalism is.

It's about saying yes, going where the story is.

When you think of some of the all-time great anchors, some of my heroes, Cronkite and Murrow, cut their teeth first as field reporters in Europe covering the Second World War.

Robert MacNeil was on the ground in Dallas for the JFK assassination.

So you just never know where the story will take you.

Who knows?

Maybe this could be my 'Nam.

ALLY: My name is Ally.

ASHLEY: Hi, my name's Ashley.

Hi, my name's Nathan.

I'm here at VidCon 2013.

ALLY: I just, like, started shaking and shaking.

STEVE GOLDBLOOM: Why are you crying?

Are you-- is everything OK?

They're usually, like, on the screen and now they're there.

STEVE GOLDBLOOM: Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go go.

ALLY: I'm keeping it together.

Yeah.

[screaming and cheering] Want to get out of here, Noah?

[cheering] Yeah, I feel like I'm in a bad version of "Degrassi Junior High," the original series.

JORDAN SMITH (ON PHONE): Ah, just relax, Steve.

You're not at the White House.

They're a bunch of kids.

Ask them a few questions.

Get the story.

Get out of there.

Look, I don't even really know what this is.

I mean, you asked me to cover it and I'm trying to find an angle.

It's just a bunch of people filming themselves in capes and costumes.

JORDAN SMITH (ON PHONE): Right.

Hey, look.

if you get down, just think, What would Jim Lehrer do?

How are you doing, Phil?

Steve from PBS.

Do you have a second for PBS?

Excuse me.

We're from PBS.

Could we have 30 seconds with them?

I'm here with youtube.com/-- danisnotonfire.

danisnotonfire.

And AmazingPhil.

TROYE SIVAN: No, see, I do singing and blog videos, yeah.

Singing and blog videos?

Yeah.

You-- how many views do you guys have now?

Between my show and SourceFed, I think we get 40 to 60 million views a month.

60 million views a month?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I've got 120 million views on my channel and-- 120 million views?

Yes.

Yes.

STEVE GOLDBLOOM: We're like "NewsHour" style so what could we do?

PBS is a little bit more like this and "Mr. Rogers" and it's great.

But then if it wants to get on the internet, it's got to speed up a little bit.

It's just the rate per speed per minute.

It's a little bit like this.

This is how we talk online.

[typing] (ON VIDEO)-Have a concussion.

Now, I for one believe this video's fake.

Fake!

Indians don't choose who they marry.

No, really, it's fake.

(ON VIDEO)-That awesomeness.

Creators of the world, you have two weeks and let's jump into the first story of the day.

(ON VIDEO)-My gosh, I wish she would stop twerking.

She's not good at it.

(ON VIDEO)-Yeah.

(ON VIDEO)-For whatever reason, it's kind of gross.

But this isn't the only word other than-- They're just cutting it all the time and it's like, totally sheared.

No, are you going to be like this all the time, filming everything?

WOMAN (ON VIDEO): Cake pops were like a food baby.

NOAH: Yeah.

WOMAN (ON VIDEO): I like my food baby.

MAN (ON VIDEO): Well, according to one-- STEVE GOLDBLOOM: 3.4 million views?

[interposing voices] Let's look at our stuff.

Why don't you come around?

[theme music] ANCHOR (ON VIDEO): On this, the first night of the new "PBS NewsHour,"-- STEVE GOLDBLOOM: 4,000-- ANCHOR (ON VIDEO): We have a lot of news for you.

(ON VIDEO)-We also have a new look.

We could try this.

I could talk fast and you could just puh, puh, puh, cut it together quickly.

Do you want to try it?

Hi, YouTube.

It's Stevey G coming at you from VidCon in Anaheim.

Did you know that six billion hours of video are watched each month on YouTube?

Almost an hour for every person on Earth-- yep.

And many of the most watching-generated videos, now a lot of you are at VidCon today.

Pow!

With rapid cuts, cu-cu-cuts, crisp backgrounds, jazz ambience, hyperbolic graphics, and more cuts, cuts-- we're still cutting, cuts, and of course, puppies.

[yelps] I'm actually getting a bit of a headache, Noah.

Why don't we just submit a typical package the way they ask for it?

ROBOTIC VOICE (ON PHONE): You have one new message.

JORDAN SMITH (ON PHONE): Stevey, great work, man.

This is honestly really, really good.

So guess what?

I'm a little surprised at this, OK, but PBS is going to send you down to San Francisco to make more of these.

Woo!

JORDAN SMITH (ON PHONE): You're going to be our tech guy.

And I told them you're not a tech guy but they said you're as good as anybody.

This is PBS.

So go down there.

Make me proud.

I'm rooting for you, buddy.

Woo!