Reuters to launch TV product for phones and tablets

Reuters editor in chief Steve Adler sent out the following announcement on Monday:

Reuters is embarking on an exciting and ambitious new consumer television product for connected devices (such as phones and tablets) which will launch later this year. The new Reuters TV app, to be sold by subscription, will deliver the day’s most important and interesting news through fast-paced and urgent video segments covering everything from politics to pop culture for English-speaking viewers around the world. It will also provide opportunities for Reuters journalists to develop valuable new multi-media skills.

This is a significant project and we are looking to take full advantage of all of the assets we already have within Reuters, including tapping some of our internal video talent from Insider to support this new, innovative initiative. Some positions have already been filled and there will be a number of additional roles posted as well.

Reuters journalists will be the lifeblood of Reuters TV and will determine its success. We’ll be teaming up text, Reuters Video News, photos and digital video, to cover the important stories of the day. Of these, some will include “pieces-to-camera” (sometimes called “stand-ups”), which means reporters will appear in, and narrate, the video. The rest will be produced by the Reuters TV production teams in the three regional hubs.

We will have a two-way flow of ideas, both (1) pitches from bureaus and (2) requests from our regional news hubs (New York, Washington, London and Singapore) to bureaus.  All ideas will flow through text editors designated as “video champions” in each region, to be named by the three regional editors. We will use Reuters most compelling RVN agency footage and draw on the expertise of text correspondents in front of the camera. We will have teams of producers in London, New York, Washington and Hong Kong ready to help craft scripts, to advise on sound bites appropriate for each piece and to help with the pieces-to-camera. All of the material will be edited together in London, New York and Hong Kong.

Almost always, the stories selected for Reuters TV will be those that bureaus are already writing and filming. However, the most compelling stories of each day already put considerable time pressure on bureau chiefs, reporters and RVN television crews. Therefore, hub editors, RVN editors-of-the-day and bureau chiefs must plan this into the workflow for each story selected.

The regional editors in conjunction with the Reuters TV editors have outlined a process and workflow guide for your participation. You can find these details in the attached document and on the Hub.

To give you a better sense of what these video segments will look like, here are a few examples of stand-ups and a sample script.

There is an active pilot underway now, and we will be ramping up production over the coming months.

This is an incredibly exciting opportunity, but it will take teamwork across the entire Editorial organization to be a success.  I look forward to your participation.