Media Insider: HuffPost Video Refocuses, Media Outlets Mark David Bowie Passing, and Journalism Prepares for FAA Rules on Drones
Welcome to Media Insider, PR Newswire’s round up of journalism, blogging and freelancing stories from the week.
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A Big Pivot for HuffPost Video (Politico)
The Huffington Post is consolidating its video operations site-wide. The move effectively will see the end of HuffPost Live in its existing format, allowing The Huffington Post to refocus on shareable video content and long-form, documentary-style productions, reports Politico. In a recent memo, founder Arianna Huffington said the video units HuffPost Live, HuffPost News, HuffPost Originals and HuffPost Rise will merge into a single team.
Curation is the New Obituary: 8 Ways Media Outlets Marked Bowie’s Life and Death [Now 16] (Online Journalism Blog)
David Bowie‘s death demonstrated just how widely curation has become a part of reporting the story. In this instance, it marked web native version of the obituary. Online Journalism Blog goes over some ways different publications used curation to mark Bowie’s death, including liveblogging, reactions and tributes, galleries, video playlists, GIFs, quotes, archive material, and timelines.
Why 2016 Could be a Breakout Year for Drone Journalism (Poynter)
The Federal Aviation Administration is set to release new rules this year regarding the commercial use of drones. How this affects journalism could be varied. Poynter reports the most common use for drones among journalists likely will be taking photos and videos of vast swaths of land from up high. “Drones are most useful for covering stories with large spatial applications, particularly natural or man-made disasters,” Poynter writes. “It’s difficult to convey the scope of damage wrought by a tornado or hurricane with street-level photography, but the loss becomes clear from 50 or 100 feet in the air.”
Upworthy Changes Course; Lays Off 14 to Focus Resources on Video (Politico)
Politico learned that viral news site Upworthy laid off 14 of its 97 employees with the intention of reallocating resources toward its original video department. “The move comes just six months after the company announced a major pivot: it would move away from viral aggregation and instead focus on original content, laying off six staffers in the process,” Politico reports.
Opening Night of the TED2016 Conference to be Broadcast in Select US Theaters (Mashable)
For the first time ever, the opening night of TED’s flagship annual conference will be broadcast live from Vancouver in select theaters. The cinematic event titled TED2016: Dream ‘Opening Night’ Live in Cinemas will debut in more than 615 movie theaters on Feb. 15. TED is a nonprofit devoted to “ideas worth spreading.”
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Christine Cube is an audience relations manager with PR Newswire and freelance writer. Follow @cpcube or check out her latest on Beyond Bylines on PR Newswire for Journalists.
