ITN Productions launches citizen journalism channel

ITN Productions has announced that its new citizen journalism channel has today launched on YouTube.

TruthLoader, which curates content and invites suggestions for investigations via Reddit, was one of a number of new channels announced earlier this year as part of YouTube's original channels initiative.

In a release today ITN Productions said the channel "showcases the work of citizen journalists from around the world with original daily programming from amateur eyewitnesses and passionate online campaigners".

"All reports are curated by social media experts and professional journalists at ITN Productions before published on the channel".

According to ITN Productions, the channel is also "supported by [social news agency] Storyful and other social media experts".

The channel will curate citizen journalism reports each weekday, as well as hosting "The Hangout", a "live debate show over Skype and Google Hangout for citizen journalists", held on Wednesdays.

On Fridays the channel will also publish "reports and investigations ... about conspiracy theories from around the world".

In a mission statement video published on the channel today, presenter Phil Harper calls on the audience to help "set the agenda".

"We want you to suggest things for us to take a look at, and we will seriously investigate them."

He added that topics they want to look at will cover "everything from the Arab Spring to global warming".

"What we want to do is create a space which steps back from the 24 hours news network and really tries to grapple with what's going on. Because we totally get that an endless sea of disconnected information doesn't help us or you to really understand the world better."

The channel has also created a subreddit, a discussion topic within Reddit, to help its online community submit suggestions for content to be investigated by the channel.

"We want to use this subreddit as a way to organise content you want featured in the show," Truthloader says on the social news site.

"If you've got a story you'd like investigating, submit it here. If you've got feedback, suggestions or comments, make sure we hear about it on this sub, or post them on our YouTube channel."

In a release editorial director at ITN Productions Chris Shaw added: "citizen journalism has moved to the very forefront of news and newsgathering, but how can people trust what they’re watching?"

"The Truthloader editorial team supported by Storyful and other social media experts will seek out the cutting-edge of citizen journalism on the web.

"Truthloader viewers can expect to see new footage for under-reported stories and coverage of events that traditional journalists simply can’t get to. Viewers set the agenda, citizen journalists supply the material, and we make the show."

Managing editor of Storyful Markham Nolan told Journalism.co.uk that Truthloader was "looking for a steer as to what was bubbling up".

As such Storyful runs through the "best content we're unearthing from social media" with the team at Truthloader each morning.

The Truthloader team then "do most of the follow-up", Nolan added, and "go a little bit deeper".

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