The Latest Major Platform for News Is Youtube

According to a study, popular video sharing website YouTube is emerging as a major platform for news.

The Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism found that while viewership for TV news still easily outpaces those consuming news on YouTube, the site is a growing digital environment where professional journalism merges with citizen content.

"There's a new form of video journalism on this platform," News24 quoted Amy Mitchell, Deputy Director of the Pew Research Centre's Project for Excellence in Journalism, as saying.

"It's a form in which the relationship between news organizations and citizens is more dynamic and more diverse than we've seen in most other platforms before," Mitchell added.

According to the study, over a third of the most-watched videos came from citizens.

More than half came from news organisations, but footage in those videos sometimes incorporated footage shot by YouTube users.

The study, which was conducted from January 2011 to March 2012, said that the Japanese earthquake and tsunami was the most-viewed news event.

According to the report, other popular news events included the Russian elections, unrest in the Middle East, the collapse of a fair stage in Indiana and the crash of an Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia.

Source: ANI