YouTube has greatly affected the way news channels report on big events. Especially now that the company announced that a trio of initiatives have designed a way to expand the video-sharing site's part in media journalism.
The company is now launching a new service, called YouTube Newswire together with the social news agency, Storyful. Verified eyewitness videos from the current events of the day will be published on the trustworthy service, which make it easier for news channels to broadcast reliable stories.
In a blog post, YouTube said that they have partnered with Storyful in the past and that the two companies have worked together since the complaints that came out in Tahrir Square last 2011. They also added that Storyful had been working to contextualize YouTube videos even before the partnership.
"The role of the eyewitness has never had a more vital place in the newsgathering process, it's almost impossible to turn on the news during a breaking event without seeing raw video uploaded by a YouTube user somewhere across the globe," Oliva Ma, head of the News Lab, said in the blog post.
YouTube and Storyful are further strengthening their partnership in the effort to give journalists resources related to news around the world, including first-hand accounts from witnesses. The service also highlights how important crowd-sourced videoa are, especially at this era where people are documenting everything with just their smartphones.
The Newswire will feature both global and regional news, which will always be available online, on Twitter, and as an email newsletter. The feed will focus mainly on videos related to news, weather, and politics.
Storyful has also partnered with Facebook, which launched FB Newswire last year. Same with YouTube, the FB Newswire was also made to help curate user-generated news across the social network, and then make it easier for reporters to use those content for their stories.
