In the bizarre and anxiety-provoking world that we live in, it can be really hard for me to watch the news if it doesn't also include a few little jokes sprinkled in as a treat. So with late-night shows on hiatus due to the writers strike and the website formerly known as Twitter becoming more of a dumpster fire with each passing day, I'm in dire need of some laughs.
Thankfully, 27-year-old Jessica Burbank (@kaburbank) popped up on my For You page to fill the void with her videos translating the biggest news of the week for Gen Z, and I cannot tell you how much I look forward to each new installment.
In the clips, Jessica, often sitting in her car, runs down the latest news with the gravitas of a nightly newscaster and a deadpan sense of humor that consistently punches up at greedy corporations and out-of-touch politicians on both sides of the aisle.
Her reports are peppered with one-liners like, "Joe Biggs, a leader of the Proud Boys and organizer on January 6, got 17 years. Despite identifying as a proud boy, he was tried as an adult." She describes the Supreme Court, which overturned Roe v. Wade, as "very cringe," and says of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's recent concerning freezes, "it's giving cognitive decline."
In the comments, viewers are loving the energy Jessica brings to the table.
Millennials and even Gen X'ers have also chimed in to thank her for her service.
And viewers have been begging for more since literally the first time she posted.
Jessica told BuzzFeed that she currently does news commentary and political sketches on The Hill TV, The Young Turks, and More Perfect Union, but coming from a blue-collar background, she took a winding road to get here. She initially attended a trade school for agricultural science and honed her public speaking skills by giving presentations for the National FFA (Future Farmers of America) Organization.
Then, in her junior year, she was offered leadership scholarships that made it possible for her to attend college, as well as a position as a teaching assistant that helped her stay there after her Pell Grants ran out. She went on to get a graduate degree in data-driven policy at Brown University, but she says she "wasn't feeling the ivory tower vibe." After working on Sen. Bernie Sanders's 2020 presidential campaign as a field organizer, she started making TikToks about economics and international affairs that helped her land her current gigs.
Of her work now, Jessica says, "My job is [to] analyze what’s going on and communicate it. Basically, I get paid to say what I think about stuff. I didn’t know it was a job, but I’m really glad it’s mine. I also don’t know anyone else from a working-class background doing what I do, and that perspective is so important, to be a real person and know what it’s like to struggle to get by in the US."
And she says the idea for her Gen Z news translations came to her randomly one night: "I figured people might want a weekly news roundup. Cable news is a mess; streaming isn’t as concise as content on social media. I love teaching and entertaining. I also really wanted to reach young people, especially from working-class backgrounds. I had to do it in a way that felt authentic. It just made sense."
The very first news dump she posted got 4 million views, and she took two big lessons away from it: "1) People are tired of fake professional uptight personas delivering the news, and 2) Gen Z/young millennials want to get their news on social media. I think the information is super important, but I also like entertaining people. So when people comment that they laughed and learned stuff, either is a huge win, in my book. That makes me so happy."
And she has basically the most wholesome comment sections I've ever seen. "I remember scrolling the comments with my boyfriend — never read comments alone, use the buddy system — and we were like, 'Uh…they’re all…positive? What?'" she says. "We kept scrolling, almost looking for hate. 'They really like it. Okay.' That’s really rare. I hadn’t reflected on that much, but it’s so cool. I love all of the people who comment funny stuff and join in on the jokes. Not only is it not hate, it’s jokes. Best-case scenario."
I had to know whether her colleagues watch the series and what they think, but Jessica says they're not really tuned in to the whole TikTok thing (their loss, IMO): "Most of them are like, 'Jess does TikToks, whatever that means.' They just don’t do TikTok. They listen to me talk live for hours every week. That is more than enough, more than I want to listen to me talk, for sure."
