07/03/2026
The reason I produce videos about Estes Park and stand in front of a camera, is because not only do we run Estes Parkās only tv station, The Rocky Mountain Channel, but I am professional journalist with a background as a broadcast news reporter. That was my dream since I was in first grade.
Unfortunately, social media has turned this profession into something that can be ripped off and mimicked with a cell phone, a cheap camera set up and some $15 microphones from Amazon. Even more importantly, a script written with a quick ChatGPT promptā¦ no journalism training, writing and reporting experience needed!
It works because audiences have stopped caring about quality and would rather consume quantity and cheap attention grabbers.
People have been asking me lately why I havenāt been posting Claire from Estes videos, and the answer isā¦ what I do means so much to me, and I have been completely discouraged by the rip offs. Because what I do is real and meaningful and now it no longer feels that way. It feels completely cheapened and like itās become some kind of weird game for views and follows.
I was never doing this for attention. I was doing it because itās what I love. Unfortunately, thatās not what matters anymore.
I know they say imitation is the greatest form of flattery, but boy, it sure doesnāt feel that way.
