Stream Distributes Hurricane Footage to Media via Its Citizen Journalism Platform.
Citizen Journalism for Continuous, In-Depth Coverage.
As a result of this hyperactive hurricane season, Stream has become a useful tool to track the damage these natural disasters have caused in real time via citizen journalism. While some choose to evacuate, there are always a few courageous souls who choose to remain in the city, reporting on incidents as they occur. Our platform was used to broadcast on the destruction seen in the wake of Hurricane Irma as documented by local residents. Evacuees were able to watch live streams that were brokered to media outlets around the U.S. through Stream, receiving the most current newsworthy reporting of the flooding and wind damage that affected all.
Stream allows for news channels to broaden their coverage of natural disasters through software development kits (SDKs) that promote citizen journalism endeavors. Our SDKs provide a framework for stations to include a live streaming platform on their owned and operated properties, which empowers their consumers to contribute to current events. These consumer live stream contributions are then pulled into the news station’s enterprise account, allowing broadcasters to select local footage of events to be featured in their stories. Additionally, consumers can tag stations while using the Stream app. This enables stations to feature selected consumer-generated content on their enterprise brand accounts, which are then available to broadcast on the stations’ media outlets.The end result is a more inclusive picture of developments within the featured story.
In situations like Hurricane Irma, user-generated content is more important than ever. With a finite pool of reporting cast and crew, news stations are limited in the content that they can possibly broadcast, creating a small-scale picture of current events. This limitation is one reason why outlets often capture only the worst parts of storm damage in the face of natural disasters. Citizen journalism, powered by Stream, improves this situation by widening the scope of coverage available to these outlets to include both landmark spots and local neighborhoods. Now, those directly impacted by natural disasters and other large-scale events can follow developments more closely in the areas that matter to them the most.
Next time you are faced with any newsworthy event, natural disaster or otherwise, go live on Stream and contribute your video!
Want to leverage citizen journalists’ content for your publication? Contact us at sales@stream.live.
