Newt Gingrich says 'so long' on YouTube

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich hasn't hit the airwaves yet to announce his exit from the race but he did post this YouTube video, announcing his departure and thanking his supporters, this morning:

It's a fitting finish for a candidate who began his presidential journey on YouTube just under a year ago. Here's his announcement video:

Now, close to 10 million channel views later, he's calling it quits. Farewell, sweet Newt.

Six years later, the campaign tracker sees a re-birth on YouTube

In 2006, George Allen uttered the word "macaca" on film and changed the course of YouTube Politics forever. From that moment, the political world learned two important lessons: 1) YouTube is a powerful medium for spreading political messages and 2) everything a candidate says can be recorded on camera by a campaign tracker, employed by the opposition.

In 2012, campaign trackers are no longer a novelty on the trail. Today's NPR "All Things Considered" story offers a deeper look at how this position has evolved into a campaign "must-have" and how they've changed how politicians operate.

But what about hiring a tracker to document your own campaign's every move? That's precisely what the Romney campaign is doing. Governor Romney's body man Garrett Jackson has been uploading behind-the-scenes footage of moments along the campaign trail to his personal YouTube account, offering a glimpse of Romney that the public doesn't see very often.

Garrett's most-popular video, uploaded three weeks ago, has received over half a million views and documents an April Fools prank on the Governor:

With viewership like this, the Romney campaign should seriously consider having Garrett upload to their official campaign channel instead. For comparison's sake, the most-viewed video in the last month on the official Romney channel has received only 91,000 views.

With a great big roar...

Yesterday marked the White House annual Easter Egg Roll and while the footage of kids rolling eggs is pretty cute, the media seems to be zeroing in on another tradition -- President Obama's reading of his favorite book, "Where the Wild Things Are."

Watch it here, particularly starting at 1:15 when Obama really gets into character, letting out a pretty epic "wild rumpus" roar. Even Bo gets in on the action.

You can also compare it to his reading of the same book from last year:

and 2009:

This Week's Top News Stories on YouTube-- Dramatic rescue in Italy, protests in Tunisia, and uneasy truce forms in Zabadani, Syria

Everyday on the CitizenTube Channel (and @CitizenTube on Twitter), along with our curation partners @storyful, we look at how the top news stories are covered on YouTube. Every week we'll post a weekly recap of the top news stories of the week:

• We witnessed dramatic rescue efforts as the cruise ship Costa Concordia crashed into rocks in shallow waters in Giglio, Italy.
• We watched the CEO of the Costa company blame human error, as most accused the ship's captain, Francesco Schettino, of being at fault for the crash.
• We monitored events in Syria where military forces attacking rebels in Zabadani agreed to a ceasefire, as Obama raised concerns about the violence there.
• We saw unprecedented amounts of snow falling in the state of Washington, with many going out and making the most of the rare event.
• We followed the GOP candidates during a dramatic week on the US campaign trail, as Jon Huntsman and Rick Perry both dropped out of the running for the Republican nomination.
• We marked the anniversary of the 'Arab Spring' with protests in Tunisia at the slow pace of reforms.
• We witnessed Russian oil supply ship Renda arriving in Nome, Alaska with assistance from the US Coastguard.
• We viewed the forced closure of Kruger National Park in South Africa due to prevalent flooding caused by heavy rain. 
• And finally, we celebrated with Muhammad Ali, one of the most iconic figures alive, who turned 70 this week. 

This Week's Top News Stories on YouTube-- Mitt Romney claims victory in New Hampshire, award-winning French journalist is killed in Syria, and a national strike paralyses Nigeria

Everyday on the CitizenTube Channel (and @CitizenTube on Twitter), along with our curation partners @storyful, we look at how the top news stories are covered on YouTube. Every week we'll post a weekly recap of the top news stories of the week:

• We were saddened as award-winning French journalist Gilles Jacquier was killed during attacks on a pro-government rally in Homs, Syria.
• We watched strong condemnation worldwide as video emerged of four US marines urinating on Taliban corpses.
• We monitored events in Syria as eleven Arab League observers were injured in an attack on one of their cars in Latakia.
• We marked Guantanamo Bay's tenth year of operation, a period Amnesty is calling "a decade of damage to human rights".
• We followed the GOP candidates on the US campaign trail, as Mitt Romney took New Hampshire and looked ahead to South Carolina. 
• We saw more than ten feet of snow falling on parts of Alaska, especially around the town of Cordova.
• We viewed a national strike in Nigeria bringing the country to a standstill as thousands continued to protest the scrapping of the fuel subsidy
• We witnessed a surfer's paradise develop in California as massive waves hit beaches all along the coast.
• And finally, we watched South Africa celebrate one hundred years since the forming of the African National Congress.

This Week's Top News Stories on YouTube--New Year celebrations, the Iowa Caucuses, and more

Everyday on the CitizenTube Channel (and @CitizenTube on Twitter), along with our curation partners @storyful, we look at how the top news stories are covered on YouTube. Every week we'll post a weekly recap of the top news stories of the week:

• We began the New Year by remembering some of biggest events of 2011: from Occupy Wall street to the death of Steve Jobs
• We monitored events in Bahrain as protesters and security forces endlessly clashed, leading to the tear-gassing of the funeral of a 16 year old. 
• We witnessed the powerful eruption of Sicily's Mount Etna volcano, which sent huge plumes of ash into the air, sparking flight disruption fears
• We viewed thousands of Nigerians take to the streets in protest over the doubling of petrol prices due to fuel subsidy cuts.
• We followed the GOP candidates as they gave eloquent speeches at the Iowa caucuses; the first major electoral event on the US campaign trail.
• We saw Occupy Wall Street protesters get the drop on New York police as they reoccupied Zucotti Park on New Years Eve.
• We watched a devastating landslide kill and injure dozens in the Philippines after a week of heavy rain.  
• We were shocked at a bomb attack in Damascus that killed at least 25, sparking more anti-government protests.
• And finally, we watched the world bring in the new year with widespread celebrations in Asia, Europe and the US