localnews
Latest
Apple News adds audio stories and a daily podcast
It also introduced local news hubs for select cities and regions.
Facebook will spend $300 million to help local newsrooms
Facebook is investing $300 million into news partnerships over the next three years in a bid to boost local newsrooms. It's all part of its ongoing efforts to mend ties with the press while cleaning up misinformation on its site. Along with the $20 million Facebook has already doled out as part of its local news partnerships expansion, it will distribute $16 million among the following non-profits and support organizations: Pulitzer Center, Report for America, the Knight-Lenfest News Transformation Fund, the Local Media Association, the Local Media Consortium, the American Journalism Project, and the Community News Project.
Facebook's expanded local news strategy includes government alerts
Facebook is expanding its efforts to promote local news, and this now includes potentially vital information. The social network has started testing local alerts from both government bodies and first responders, including both notifications as well as labels in your News Feed and the Today In section. If there's a school closure or an impending natural disaster, you might find out about it before you check local news sites.
Facebook program aims to boost local news subscriptions
Just because Facebook is downplaying publishers in your News Feed doesn't mean it's uninterested in giving media outlets a helping hand. The social network's Journalism Project is launching a Local News Subscriptions Accelerator that will help "metro newspapers" grow their reader bases. The $3 million, 3-month pilot will have 10 to 15 publishers participate in weekly training and once-a-month meetings to improve their digital subscription marketing both on and off of Facebook, including the creation of tailor-made projects with funding.
Facebook will prioritize local stories in your News Feed
You may start seeing more posts from local publishers popping up in your News Feed. Facebook announced today that it will begin prioritizing local news, bumping it up higher in your feed if you follow a local publisher's Page or if a friend shares a locally-published story. "We are prioritizing local news as a part of our emphasis on high-quality news, and with today's update, stories from local news publishers may appear higher in News Feed for followers in publishers' geographic areas," Facebook said in the announcement.
Facebook is testing a dedicated section for local news
Facebook is testing a new section dedicated to local news and events, Recode reports. Called "Today In," it's currently being tested in six cities -- New Orleans, Louisiana; Little Rock, Arkansas; Billings, Montana; Peoria Illinois; Olympia, Washington; and Binghamton, New York. It's accessible through the menu button on the bottom right of the mobile app and will include stories from local publishers -- which will be approved by Facebook's News Partnerships team -- as well as emergency updates and local events.
Google is funding AI writers for local UK news reporting
The UK Press Association (PA) will soon hand writing duties on thousands of local news stories to robots. Cue headlines about the death of news media (seriously, though, this might be a problem).
The Weather Channel's odd local news service is coming to iOS and Android
The Weather Channel is a shining example of cable TV's heyday -- but it's become increasingly irrelevant with the rise of the internet and smartphones. The company started working to get more into localized news and weather with Local Now, a channel that covers news, weather, sports, traffic and other such updates for specific geographic areas, but it was only available on Dish's Sling TV service. Now, Reuters says its Local Now's reach will greatly expand with the launch of apps for Android and iOS.
BBC lays out 'open' vision to combat licence fee critics
The BBC is a renowned broadcaster and a part of Britain's cultural fabric, but its future capabilities are currently under threat. The UK government is preparing to amend its Royal Charter -- a document that shapes the BBC's funding and remit -- and early consultations have hinted at drastic clawbacks. In retaliation, the BBC has announced a volley of counter-proposals today that would, it claims, make its services more "open" and distinctive.
Pulse News for iOS adds local content for many cities
Pulse News for iOS has added a local category to its news aggregation app. The change puts hundreds of local news sources into the Pulse app, which can make the app a 1 stop destination for a lot of users. As far as I know this is the first news app that has offered tailored local content. Partners include Patch (from our owners AOL), which is available in 800 US cities, and some other regional and suburban publishers have joined up as well. In addition to local news, the app offers localized deals from Groupon, Living Social and Gift City. A new local sports category has content from SBNation, Bleacher Report, and CBS Sports. Finally, the app has added Zagat restaurant info and local food blogs to help users find the best meals in their areas. I tried the app today to generally good results. I didn't see any info from Patch (they don't do anything here in Arizona), but the other categories populated quickly. Local news has been pretty much ignored by most of the news aggregation apps, so this is a good step for news junkies who find it easier to get news from Afghanistan than their own backyard. The Pulse News app does not require an update. The new feature is added at the server side, so users only have to add a new content source to see the local news options.
AOL's Patch sites get iPhone app for hyperlocal news
AOL has released an iPhone app for its Patch news sites. Patch.com offers hyperlocal news for more than 800 towns across America. Each location has one editor and uses a collection of freelance writers to report the news. The idea behind Patch and other hyperlocal sites is that resident editors and writers can fill the void left by cash-strapped local newspapers, which, thanks to declining staff, no longer have the funds to cover all of the latest stuff in town. Want to know the score of the high school football game? Patch can tell you that. Looking forward to that all-you-can-eat buffet bar opening? Patch has all the deets about the dessert items on the menu. For example, I grew up in the St. Louis suburb of Ballwin, where absolutely nothing happens. Ever. But opening up my Patch app right now, I can see that the Borders on Manchester Road just sold its last book this weekend. Yeah, that's not as exciting as what goes on here in London, but at the same time, it's incredibly cool that I can get such hyperlocal news from my hometown -- and now I can get it right on my iPhone. The Patch app, released this week, features a handy dashboard screen that gives you quick access to your local weather, news, events and a directory of local businesses. It also offers a "Front 5" feature, which is a collection of the most relevant hyperlocal stories of the day. The app has a well-designed UI, and more importantly, the whole Patch concept is a lot more useful now that I can access it on my iPhone while out and about. Patch for iPhone is a free download and requires an iPhone 3GS or later. [Shout out to my Ballwin hommies: The Patch app just told me the Easter Bunny is appearing at Chesterfield Mall every day this week from noon to 1 PM. Rock on.] Disclaimer: AOL is the parent company of TUAW.
Naked Florida man opens fire on SWAT bot with AK-47, no kidding
"Investigators say they've never dealt with a naked man attacking a robot before." So starts perhaps the most insane local news story we've ever heard. According to an ABC affiliate in Florida, a disgruntled man, sporting nothing more than his birthday suit and an AK-47, opened fire on a robot last week, after threatening to shoot himself and anyone who crossed the threshold of his home. The $65,000 SWAT bot was sent in to investigate, and captured every inch of the man on video before being pumped full of bullets. Deputies say the man eventually surrendered fully-clothed and was taken for a mental evaluation. No word yet on when or if the footage will be released in a Robo COPS: Disrobed and Dangerous Special Edition. For now, you can check out video at the source link below.
CNN jumps on the news app bandwagon
CNN released CNN Mobile [iTunes link], an impressive news app but there are some caveats. The app is loaded with features, including the latest international and US News, local weather and traffic, and the ability to share stories with email, SMS, Facebook and Twitter. You can follow topics that are of interest to you, and they get placed in a special spot you can access with a tap of your finger. You can also shoot video if you have an iPhone 3GS, and send it along to CNN. All in all, it's as full featured a news app as anyone could hope for, and includes live streaming of breaking events. If you turn your phone to landscape mode, you get a kind of cover flow of stories, where you can drag your finger across the screen and explore stories in an interesting way.
KHNL NBC 8 launches HD news in Hawaii
Sure University of Hawaii games are still stuck in SD, but Hawaiian viewers are getting another local HD source this year, as KHNL has moved into new digs and started dishing out high definition news every night on the 22nd. Check the video after the jump for a glimpse at the finished newsroom and its many HDTVs, or just stop by the corner of Waiakamilo Road and Kalani Street and say hello.
South Florida's NBC 6 takes local news high-def
No sooner than Comcast announced that it would be upgrading its infrastructure in sunny South Florida, along comes word that WTVJ (NBC 6) has finally made the leap to HD newscasts. Believe it not, the switch -- which happened without much warning yesterday -- makes it the first in the Miami / Ft. Lauderdale area to broadcast local news in high-definition. It's shaping up be an excellent Spring to sit inside down there, isn't it?[Thanks, Josh]
Fox News Central Texas debuts tonight, HD coming soon
Shortly after hearing that Central Texas would be getting a helping of new HD channels later this month, we've now learned that KWKT-TV (a local FOX affiliate) will begin airing its own newscast tonight. Debuting on the same day as the 2008 State of the Union address, Fox News Central Texas will get its first show underway this evening at 9:30PM local time, but will move to 9:00PM going forward. Tonight's show will mark the station's first foray into local news since it began broadcasting in 1988, and while it won't yet be shown in high-definition, the entire newsroom is already HD-capable. So, what's the holdup, you ask? Just a digital switcher, which is "presently on order."
Atlanta residents rejoice! Local ABC news going HD today!
Oh, do we have some great news for Atlanta residents craving local high-def news. Channel 2 WSB-TV flipped the switch on their high-def local news feed a few hours ago with Channel 2 Action News at Noon. This marks the inaugural HD news broadcast for the station and here on out, all Channel 2 newscasts will be televised in glorious HDTV. The station upgraded miles of copper cable cable to fiber and retrofitted even the stations news copter along with weather maps to provide their viewers with the best possible picture and it will be evident on even SDTV sets. Hopefully local news stations going HD isn't going to be news sometime soon but there are currently only a handful of stations nationwide with this ability.
WFTV-Channel 9 out of Orlando goes high-def
Central Florida can now enjoy their local ABC affiliate, WFTV, local news in beautiful high-def. This station has spent a good amount of money to build a whole new set and upgrade their equipment to handle high definition. Local news is great in high-def and we are happy for the local viewers. Remember that all broadcast stations need to transmit their signal in a digital form by February 17, 2009. Because of this, many stations have chosen to upgrade their news room and take advantage of the new signals. Stations have been doing this for years now and so while WFTV is excited about their new upgrade, we highly doubt their claim as the tenth station in the country to go high def with their local news.Do you have any local news stations in high-def? Lets see if we can get more then ten.[I, Matt Burns, have one. Richard has two and Ben: zero][thanks for the tip Bruce]
