As a platform, YouTube has long been a clearinghouse for raw, newsworthy footage from around the world, from grainy shots of protests during the Arab Spring to high-definition recordings of the latest drones, but it has never tried to organize those resources into a structured news site.
Now, it’s taking the first step toward becoming a fully fledged news source. On Thursday, June 18, it launched YouTube Newswire, a simple curated page featuring videos of the biggest news stories of the day.
Newswire, created in partnership with the social news agency Storyful, isn’t just a list of videos, but a brand, with its own Twitter page and newsletter.
YouTube is the latest online platform to take a more active approach in the world of journalism, creating its own brand instead of passively transmitting content between newsmakers and consumers. Earlier this year, Snapchat launched Discover, where so far a select group of media organizations produces news videos customized for viewing on the popular social app, and Facebook struck a deal with an array of publishers to host entire articles on the social network.
