YouTube: break down the barriers to entry to traditional journalism

“YouTube’s journalism programme could provide a collaborative solution to the decline in traditional foreign correspondents,” says Steve Grove, head of news and politics for YouTube.

In an interview for Journalism.co.uk Mr. Grove said:

“News organisations could never afford to have a correspondent in every corner of the world with an eye on every story as it unfolds – but in today’s media landscape, millions of people around the world have the ability to contribute to reporting the news and broadcasting it globally. There is clearly a huge opportunity there.”

Mr. Grove is responsible for the launch of the reporter channel, an additional citizen news channel, and a YouTube competition for aspiring journalists in partnership with the Pulitzer Center. This initiative is called: Project:Report. The aim is: “To tell stories that might not otherwise be told.”

From YouTube’s perspective, news videos from users could help plug a gap in international and hyperlocal coverage, while the site continues to develop relations with “professional content partners” like BBC, Reuters and the New York Times.

Mr. Grove explains:

“We want to break down the barriers to entry to traditional journalism while at the same time upholding the best of traditional journalism values… We think if we do that well we’ll create journalism from out of the YouTube community that meets the quality test of any ‘traditional’ journalist.”

More recent stories

Digital trends for publishers – perspectives from Israel

During the Digital Innovators’ Summit in Berlin, Daniel Cohen, Partner, Gemini Fund briefly covered the Israel startup environment and some of the current trends he is seeing as it relates to new startups and innovation. Number of investments in... 

Determining and monetizing the audiences

Audience is publishers’ most valuable asset – and they want to monetize this audience yourself, rather than letting others reap the benefits. Software services and private ad exchanges can help manage and safeguard your precious data and optimize... 

Interactive advertising and marketing by Dow Jones and Serviceplan

Selling online advertising inventory at a decent rate is still a challenge. Publishers need to create attractive offerings and be pro-active in selling these. Participants of the Digital Innovators’ Summit in Berlin could listen to different industry... 

Leveraging social media in newsmedia companies

The reach and scale of social media continues to grow, but how can publishers profit from this? In this session, publishers provided insights into their strategies and approaches to social media. Dan Hickey is the SVP, Digital Engagement, Meredith, USA What... 

International digital growth strategies for Axel Springer

Growth can be pursued in a number of different ways, but one of the most challenging and lucrative ways is expanding business into other countries. Digital makes it easier to reach customers in other countries. Dr. Jens Müffelmann shared his strategies... 

Developing new revenue streams – Digital Innovators’ Summit

New Revenue Streams were the topic of one of the sessions during the Digital Innovators’ Summit in Berlin. Integrating e-commerce into magazine sites, offering commerce deals with the publisher’s brand on a white label platform, and utilizing... 

How to make content work – in Forbes, Sports Illustrated and nugg.ad

Delegates from Forbes, Sports Illustrated and nugg.ad spoke during the Digital Innovators’ Summit in Berlin about the core of the digital publishing business. Quality content remains at the heart of the digital publishing business. But how can it...