Have you ever wanted to be a news reporter, one of those intrepid reporters on the scene with your trusty cameraman, relaying the latest news to a hungry public?
You have? Well you could be in luck, because Google has just launched YouTube Direct, which is aimed at allowing YouTube users to submit videos (not necessarily their own) to local news networks’ websites.
News and media organisations are able to use the YouTube Direct service to request users, members of the general public, to submit YouTube videos that may be of newsworthiness. These videos are then assessed for their relevance by the media organisations and, if found to be of note, are used as news.
Steve Grove, from the news and politics section of YouTube (yes, there is one) added:
People around the world are taking up cameras and covering news in ways big and small – from documenting global events, to filming local town halls in neighborhoods. YouTube Direct empowers news and media organisations to easily connect with these citizen reporters, and use the power of our platform to cover the news better than ever before.
The Huffington Post in the USA tested the service and it is now being rolled out to different news organisations in America. The idea is that users will be able to upload those all important eye witness videos taken with camera phones and camcorders much faster, and their sources can be verified much easier.
Steve Grove continued:
As we are trying to meet a need that news organisations have, we created an ecosystem between the news audience and YouTube. Think of it like this: YouTube Direct is like a loop between a news website and YouTube. It wraps up YouTube’s upload site in a box and places it on the site of news organisations.
Once this is rolled out to news organisations across the world, everyone can become amateur news reporters and see their footage screened on the news.
Make sure you have your camera phone with you at all times!
