New tools are making it easier for viewers to submit video — and transfer rights — to TV stations. Groups like Gray and Tegna say simplified UGC has boosted engagement, and expanded coverage without increasing staff. Above, user-generated content appeared throughout Gray Television’s WECT Wilmington, N.C.’s coverage of the Surf City Fire story last year. (Source: Jacob Robert Younce)
David Carr tackles the problem of how social sharing — now a vital part of a self-obsessed culture producing troves of UGC — leaves traditional media companies largely out of the equation. An abundance of messaging and self-publishing services are instead proving more useful for users, and getting a media message into this ephemeral space is growing harder.
Last year, NBC Universal bought Stringwire, an app that lets users stream live video that news organizations can use. Since a beta launch in August, NBC News has used to to document events like rallies and protests in Ferguson and Occupy Hong Kong.
The AP’s Eric Carvin, Pro Publica’s Amanda Zamora and CNN iReport’s Katie Hawkins-Gaar pulled together some excellent advice for anyone hoping to do a better job with content contributed by the audience. In true UGC style, they crowdsourced many of the best ideas from the journalism community at large.
