This article was published on October 30, 2012

LinkTV World News for the iPad wants to reinvent global news for the YouTube era


LinkTV World News for the iPad wants to reinvent global news for the YouTube era

Link TV is launching a free iPad app dedicated to curating the most important video coverage of major international news events, its non-profit parent company Link Media announced today. Called LinkTV World News, it combines mainstream media content to eyewitness reports and documentaries.

According to Link TV president and CEO, Paul S. Mason, the app was inspired by the fact that users are increasingly turning to YouTube for breaking international news, but can be quickly overwhelmed by the quantity and diversity of videos they stumble upon without any filter.

“The LinkTV World News app does the heavy lifting so users don’t have to,” Mason explains. “A team of seasoned journalists using the best semantic ‘smart search’ technology sifts through thousands of newscasts and raw videos to bring people the stories that matter most.”

In practical terms, the app features a Top Stories landing page where users can browse a handpicked selection of global news videos from more than 125 video news sources such as Reuters, CNN, France 24, the BBC, The Guardian and The New York Times, as well as eyewitness reports from around the world.

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If users swipe this initial screen, they get access to a world map that connects all stories and documentaries to the relevant location. As you can see, the app’s scope is already quite wide:

As for the Documentaries page, it reflects Link TV’s established taste for alternative takes on global news. As you may know, it prides itself in bringing U.S. audiences shows and news they can’t find anywhere else thanks to its independent satellite TV network.

While Link TV is already present on TV and on the Internet, it is interesting to see it launch apps and become more interactive. For instance, the app’s users can personalize their news feeds by deciding which topics and ongoing stories they want to follow.

Videos aside, the app also features articles from around 50,000 international sources, which users can share via social networks. Each article page also gives them keys to explore further, and to take action on relevant world issues.

As a matter of fact, the project also hopes to make a social impact, which is why it received the support of the Knight Foundation and The Bertha Foundation. “It is an increasingly connected and complex world, and The Bertha Foundation believes it is vitally important to offer access to a diversity of voices, whether it be from a veteran broadcaster or an eyewitness,” said Rebecca Lichtenfeld of Bertha Philanthropies.

Other partners include digital video platform VidCaster, which helped Link TV develop a Google TV app that delivers the same curated collection of international news videos. As for the app itself, it was created by digital experience design firm Method, and leverages tools such as Zemanta, Freebase and Daylife.

LinkTV World News for the iPad

Image credit: Thinkstock

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