More and more mobile devices are being released every year with better and higher quality cameras, allowing nearly anyone to share the news faster than a major news corporation can even fathom. Founded in 2014 by Thiel fellow John Meyer, Fresco puts a focus on getting citizen journalism the credit it deserves. Today Fresco announced an Apple TV version of their Fresco News app, which curates the best content of the day, and delivers facts on international events in a fresh way.
CNN seemingly saw this coming back in 2006 with their launch of iReport as they began to look for a way to get involved in this coming wave of citizen journalism. At the time, Flip cameras were all the rage, and accessibility to high-quality video footage was becoming a reality. Apple also embraced this eventual coming by enabling an iMovie theme and direct upload for iReport in 2011.
iReport’s most curious fact is that they do not edit, fact-check or screen content before it is posted. Creating a platform for citizen journalism, without curating the incoming content, can eventually drown out the voices that matter.
This is the experience that sets Fresco apart.
Users can submit photos or videos, which are then immediately screened and curated by Fresco’s content team. After that, the content is then placed into the hands of some of the largest news organizations in the world.
These users are then able to receive compensation and credit for submissions chosen to be used on-air. This is the next great level of citizen journalism. No longer are people only sharing content, but they are getting the accreditation and compensation they deserve.
The videos are available on-demand, allowing a user to pick and choose what and when they want to watch the content that matters to them.
The initial Fresco News view drops the user right into a grid view of videos to watch based on recent and current events. This is a great way to see a curation of what’s happening now. I was pleasantly surprised to find plenty of stories I have yet to hear about in other media (for example, the rallies for same-sex civil unions in Italy).
Fresco News also includes a Highlights view where a user could quickly scroll through and grab the latest tidbits of user submitted content. With a mix of photos and videos, I could easily grasp and learn bits of news quickly without having to search through too much other content.
My favorite feature of Fresco News for the Apple TV has to be the Stories view. From here a user can see a collection of submitted content all based around a similar story. I went through the ‘Snowstorm Jonas: New York’ story and got to see different views and angles from the snow and damage left behind this past weekend. The app does a great job of delivering perspective without much effort.
Fresco News is available for free from the iOS App Store, and can be found on the Apple TV’s App Store now.
