YouTube To Journos: Use Citizen ContributionsYouTube To Journos: Use Citizen Contributions

Trained journalists are under increasing pressure from average citizens who are often first to take pictures, shoot video, and report on events as they unfold. Rather than pit them against one another for eyeballs, Google is unrolling YouTube Direct, a way for journalists to reach out to citizen contributors and re-broadcast their videos to regional or national audiences.Today's news isn't always reported first by a news anchor who's "on the scene." More and more often, the first images and video consumed by the Internet-using public are shared by eyewitnesses who are nearby or directly involved in whatever events transpire.

Consider the U.S. Airways Hudson River landing that happened in January. Citizens on ferries and both the Manhattan and New Jersey shorelines of the Hudson River immediately started snapping pictures and videos, and uploading them to Twitter and YouTube. This same scenario played out later during the elections in Iran. Camera crews, photographers and reporters are not always so quick to the scene.

This is why YouTube is introducing YouTube Direct. Google calls YouTube Direct a "new tool that allows media organizations to request, review and rebroadcast YouTube clips directly from YouTube users." YouTube Direct is built from YouTube's APIs. It is an open source application lets media outlets broadcast and host YouTube's upload platform on their own Web sites.

What this means is that a news organization, say, information, can create a spot for regular people to contribute videos. Any videos shared by the public would be visible on whatever specific site information wanted, as well as openly on YouTube. News outlets will have a chance to review the videos before they are broadcast on their own Web sites.

The idea follows in the footsteps of CNN.com's iReporter, which also allows for contributions from eyewitnesses. News outlets will also be able to contact the creators of content for more information, to arrange interviews and so on.

According to Google, the site isn't just for media organizations. It says that YouTube Direct "is designed to meet any organization's goal of leveraging video content submitted by the community. Businesses can use YouTube Direct to solicit promotional videos, nonprofits can use the application to call-out for support videos around social campaigns and politicians can use the platform to ask for user-generated political commercials."

Hmm, not so sure politicians would really want to latch onto that last one. The last thing they need is to give citizens ammunition to dig up dirt.

Here's a video from Google that better explains YouTube Direct: