NEW YORK, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- News Corp. said that it would buy Storyful, a start-up social media news gathering service based in Dublin, Ireland, for $25 million.
The purchase is not significant for its size, but for the direction it takes News Corp,, which is, like other news organizations, attempting to figure out how to incorporate social media into their productions, the New York Times reported Saturday.
Storyful' gathers stories from social media sites, then distributes them to news organizations. Its claim to fame, the Times said, is that it has hired a staff of 18 journalists to verify stories for authenticity.
It then makes money by taking a portion of the ad revenues that are generated by its stories and videos.
Video is also new to many print-oriented news businesses that are now transitioning to a print and Internet business or switching completely to a digital format.
"Video is a vocation for the new News, which will combine with Storyful to reach a growing global audience, enhancing our own editorial products and creating new content communities," said Robert Thomson, News Corporation's chief executive.
Storyful, which has bureaus in various locations around the world, says on its website, "We are South African, Irish, Canadian, Chinese, German, British, Australian and American. We are writers and broadcasters. We are producers and reporters. We are designers and coders. We are a mix of early adopters and late bloomers. "
The company is expected to maintain its current management, the Times said.
