Reuters Launches Reuters TV and Does Not Get It

Don’t get it…

Yesterday, Pat Younge, Chief Creative Officer at The BBC sent me a link to a Neiman Report from the highly respected Neiman Journalism Lab.

It was all about Reuters TV.

Reuters, the global news service is launching a TV Channel for news.

Well, this makes sense.  With the demise of network bureaus around the world, Reuters pretty much provides the content for news in the US and overseas.
The networks are sort of the middleman – the packager.

Reuters could never do this before becasue they didnt have a broadcast network or a cable channel

Now, they don’t need one. They have the web.

All very admirable, so far. Until you get to the specifics.

The media company wants to bridge the worlds of tv and online video and make something entirely different.

That’s how Justin Ellis starts the article.  Then, a big quote:

“We are deliberately not doing television on the web.”

This comes from Barclay Palmer, Executive Producer for Reuters Television.

Admirable.

So what are you doing?

What they plan to offer on the new channel is a mix of news and analysis on politics, finance, technology and other news from Reuters personalities like Chrystia Freeland, Felix Salmon, and Anthony De Rosa. Along with more interview-driven fare, they’ll also produce shows based around the U.S. presidential election, investigative reporting, and video from journalists in the field. It’s TV-esque — up to a point. There will be people chatting mingled with rich visuals, but the production style will be more casual, with less of a network polish and more of the energy of an upstart, Palmer said.

Barclay… that IS television.

This is why conventional broadcasters just don’t get the web and never will.  They’ve spent their lives in the linear ‘we provide you watch’ world.

Barclay, look at the biggest success stories on the web.

Does anyone ‘watch’ Facebook?

Is Facebook a ‘watching’ experience?

Look at Youtube – people don’t ‘watch’ Youtube – they upload their own stuff to it – 56 Billion(!!) videos and just starting.

How many videos does Reuters even produce in a day.

So yes, 2 points for the idea of Reuters Television online.

-500 points for the execution.

Sorry.

Next…

Michael Rosenblum

For more than 30 years, Michael Rosenblum has been on the cutting edge of the digital video journalism revolution. During this time, he has lead a drive for video literacy, and the complete rethinking of how television is made and controlled. His work has included: The complete transitioning of The BBC's national network (UK) to a VJ-driven model, starting in 2002. The complete conversion of The Voice of America, the United State's Government's broadcasting agency, (and the largest broadcaster in the world), from short wave radio to television broadcasting and webcasting using the VJ paradigm (1998-present). The construction of NYT Television, a New York Times Company, and the largest producer of non-fiction television in the US. Rosenblum was both the founder and President of NYT TV, (all based on this paradigm (1996-1998). The President and Founder of Video News International, a global VJ-driven newsgathering company, with more than 100 journalists around the world. (1993-1996). Other clients include Spectrum News, Verizon and CBS News.

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