nbcnews
Latest
'Dateline' debuts the true crime podcast it should've had all along
The NBC News true crime series Dateline is muscling into Serial's territory for its latest story, as it has released a podcast. The show is called 13 Alibis, and it tells the tale of Richard Rosario, a man who served 20 years in prison for murder even though he said he had 13 alibi witnesses ready to testify to his innocence.
NBC's free news streaming service will fully launch in May
NBC has run a limited version of its streaming news channel for the past few months. Soon, however, it'll be ready to open the taps: the broadcaster is officially launching its free NBC News Now service in early May. It'll be available on a plethora of devices (including living room devices like Apple TV and Roku) and should deliver eight hours of original programming per day, including live updates both on the hour and for breaking stories. The ultimate aim is to provide around-the-clock content, NBC News President Noah Oppenheim said.
NBC News unveils 'Signal' streaming news network
NBC News is joining its rivals by venturing beyond cable TV with a streaming news channel called Signal. You can watch it on the NBC News website and NBC's apps, as well as third-party services including YouTube, Twitter and Pluto TV.
Amazon brings voice control to Hulu and other video apps on Fire TV
You can already use Alexa voice commands to steer some video playback on a Fire TV, but Amazon is about to throw the doors wide open. It just unveiled a slew of partners that will use the Video Skills Kit to add Alexa support to their video apps, and these are definitely companies you'll recognize: Hulu, PlayStation Vue, CBS All Access, Bravo, Showtime and multiple NBC apps will all take spoken playback commands. You might not have to lift a finger to skip backwards in The Handmaid's Tale or switch live channels in Vue.
NBC's twice-daily Snapchat news show is live
If you're reading this, there's a real chance that you don't turn on the TV (if you even have one) when you're looking for news -- you're more likely to check the web or a favorite mobile app. And NBC News knows it. The network is launching a twice-daily Snapchat news show, Stay Tuned, to keep the smartphone crowd up to speed. Each 3-minute clip is effectively a condensed, slightly more "youthful" take on a conventional broadcast. The show isn't talking down to viewers, NBC says, but you will see Snapchat-like captions for recorded quotes and other attempts to match the style you expect on the service.
Facebook hires ex-NBC anchor to head news partnerships team
Facebook has hired former CNN and NBC anchor Campbell Brown to head its news partnerships department and help it deal with a spate of recent problems around its news feed. In the newly-created position, Brown will "help news organizations and journalists work more closely and more effectively with Facebook," she wrote on her Facebook page. The social network no doubt helps she can help deal with fake news, strained relations with media companies and other issues.
Facebook 'Instant Articles' plug in content from NYT and Buzzfeed
Facebook wants to do for news content what it's done with native video, and the first bit of self-hosted editorial content ("Instant Articles") could go live tomorrow. It's starting with The New York Times and will include Buzzfeed, NBC News and National Geographic if unnamed sources speaking to New York Magazine are to be believed. Apparently NYT's business side is why a deal that surfaced in late March is only coming to fruition now, with CEO Mark Thompson's push for "the most favorable" terms causing delays.
Recommended Reading: The internet can't handle streaming big TV events
Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology and more in print and on the web. Some weeks, you'll also find short reviews of books that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read. The Internet's Clearly Not Ready to Stream Big TV Events by Brian Barrett Wired Last weekend's NCAA Final Four provided some of the most-watched college basketball matchups in years -- unless, of course, your Sling TV stream didn't work. The newfangled internet TV service buckled under the weight of a wave of new subscribers looking to opt in for the big games. It was just the latest in a line of live-event-related issues web streamers encountered, and it shows that maybe major television events aren't ready to be viewed on the web. So, Sunday's Game of Thrones premiere should be... interesting.
Security researcher disputes NBC's Sochi 'hacking' experience
Hacked! As soon as you connect to the internet while at the Winter Olympics. Well, maybe not. There's been a bit of blowback from the report, even from the expert that NBC turned to during its report on online security in Sochi, Russia. To begin with, the team actually wasn't even there, they were in Moscow, and this points to a bigger issue: the hacking that NBC News experienced would have likely been the same regardless of location, as it happened while hitting up Olympic-themed websites and willingly downloading (hostile) Android apps. It had nothing to do with connecting to public WiFi, at least in the instances shown during the report. As Robert Graham pointed out at Errata Security, the only increase in hacking while being in Sochi comes for the geolocation data given to Google through your IP address, increasing the chances of sketchy Russian sites appearing in your results. (This can also be disabled within your Google account settings.) Advice for avoiding hacking if you're in Sochi (and well, anywhere) is pretty straightforward: don't visit shady sites, patch your programs (from browsers to Flash), get rid of not-so-secure elements (like Java), and if you're particularly nervous, switch on a VPN when you connect to public WiFi. The threat researcher quoted, Kyle Wilhoit, is looking to clarify a lot of the questions surrounding the admittedly brief report, although according to his Twitter feed, it's turning from a blog post into an academic paper. Update: Trend Micro researcher Kyle Wilhoit has posted his detailed blog post, confirming Graham's statements that the tests took place on devices operating without the latest updates, and that all attacks required some kind of user interaction. For the full layout of what did and did not happen in the demonstration -- despite any video edits to the contrary -- check out the post here.
NBC News SVP, Vivian Schiller, reportedly headed to Twitter
According to a report from AllThingsD, Vivian Schiller, the senior vice president and chief digital officer of NBC News, is set to become the head of news at Twitter. The site's sources say Schiller's deal with the blue bird is "all but done." With its IPO filing on the books, the world and Wall Street are watching to see how the company will grow its user base. News of Schiller's potential hiring follows the discovery of @EventParrot, an account set up by Twitter focused on providing breaking news updates. It's still unclear exactly what Schiller's role will entail or what Twitter's ultimate plans are in terms of a news business, but Schiller's background -- with stints everywhere from The New York Times to NPR -- could very well prove beneficial. Credit: Getty Images
NYT: NBC News buys Stringwire, hopes to bring user-generated live video to the news room
According to the New York Times, NBC News has just purchased Stringwire, a web service the organization hopes will allow viewers to live stream video content from their phones directly to its control room, and thus to the world. Vivian Schiller, chief digital officer for NBC News told the Times that she plans to use Stringwire for coverage of critical mass events like the protests in Cairo or the bombings in Boston. While the service itself is at its nascent stage, the key part of the acquisition is its inventor, Phil Groman, who will whip the Stringwire into shape as its product lead. The Times reports that those interested in sharing their live video streams need not bother with a special app. Anyone who tweeted they witnessed a particular news event will get a Twitter reply from a Stringwire-linked account that request they click a link. The link will then prompt them to point a camera and live stream whatever it is they're seeing. And don't worry about your local station accidentally showing something more suited for Chatroulette than breaking news; Groman assured the Times that all videos will be vetted. As immediate on-the-ground reporting becomes even more urgent in today's fast-moving world, NBC's move toward citizen journalism could be a very smart one. NBC News is expected to make its formal acquisition announcement tomorrow. [Original image credit: Paul Stein, Flickr]
NBC News app for Xbox 360 brings streaming show clips to the console
While NBC News is no longer rocking the MS tag on its name, it's still tight with the Redmond crew and just launched a new app on the Xbox 360. Its well hidden section on the Inside Xbox channel got a refresh just last year, but the new app should bring even more clips of breaking news, features and commentaries culled from its various shows. As you can see in the screenshot it brings the content in the now-familiar grid style of menus (or whatever Microsoft is calling it) with Kinect support and the like. You can find it on your console now, just in case you needed another place to love / hate Rachel Maddow, Chris Matthews and all the rest.
NBC News grows a digital publishing arm, plans 30 titles for 2012
Because you can never have your fingers in too many media pies, the powers that be at NBC News are now extending their reach into the eReader space. Under the company's newly minted NBC Publishing imprint, coverage related to current events, docs and bios, in addition to content culled from other NBC Universal divisions, will get a second life as either digital singles (think: longer than an article, shorter than a few chapters) or straight-up eBooks, with about 30 titles slated for this year. The venture, spearheaded by GM Michael Fabiano, will also reportedly serve as a platform for indie authors that rely heavily upon NBC's own archives for sourcing in their work. So, will this brave, new embrace of a 21st century business model manage to wean news junkies off that 24/7 cable drip and back into the Peacock's greedy eager arms? Hard to say until that first title hits virtual stands next month. But when it does, here's to hoping it's more Brian Williams: A Man Mad About Lana Del Rey, than Telemundo: Inside the Telenovela. Just sayin'.
NBC celebrates opening of new world headquarters
We already knew that CBS was giving its New York studios a major overhaul, but for those clocking in at NBC, you can look forward to a freshened workplace right now. After six months of work, NBC News and MSNBC will finally be under one roof when it opens the doors to its new world headquarters on October 22nd. The facility itself has 8,500-square feet of space and packs such niceties as "280 high-definition monitors and 6 HD projectors," which reminds us -- we should really see when Engadget HQ is due for an upgrade of its own.[Via BroadcastingCable]
NBC News in iTunes
Several NBC News programs have shown up in the US iTunes Music Store this morning [iTunes link], including: Various specials NBC Time Capsule (a look at classic broadcasts of historical events) Tom Brokaw Reports Crime & Punishments Meet the Presidents with Tim Russert So go and get your fix, news junkies.
