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YouTube introduces channel for citizen journalists
By siliconindia
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Wednesday, 18 November 2009, 17:07 IST
Sydney: YouTube has launched YouTube Direct, through which TV and online news editors can obtain video from so-called 'citizen journalists' - and even request such a video to be shot by amateurs seeking attention.
News outlets seeking footage can announce it in a variety of ways, including call-out videos posted on YouTube. When a YouTube user has a video that they think will interest the mainstream media, the service makes it easier for editors, producers and journalists to contact them. "News organizations always want to verify the content they use," said Steve Grove, Head of News and Politics at YouTube.
YouTube Direct is not a revenue play - either for YouTube or its users, Grove said. "It's an incentive to upload great video, because of the recognition you will get from legitimate news organizations," he said. Testing the service now are Huffington Post, NPR, Politico, the San Francisco Chronicle and a couple of Boston TV stations.
In a blog posting, Grove links to examples of such newsworthy user-generated video: presidential candidate George Allen's 'Macaca' reference, video of a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in China and a teacher screaming at and slapping an autistic student. On Monday, media firm Univision said that it would supply Spanish-language TV shows to YouTube from its three networks: Univision, TeleFuture and Galavision.
