NEW YORK, April 7 -- The New York Times Co. announced Friday it will buy a majority interest in Video News International, a worldwide video news gathering operation for television and cable networks, for an undisclosed price. The 2-year-old company, which employs more than 35 journalists, specializes in low-cost TV news reporting by offering so-called small- format reporting with a single journalist equipped with a small video recorder.
Large TV stations and TV networks frequently use four-member camera crews for news gathering. Video News International's clients include 'The MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour' on public television, ABC's 'Nightline' and the British Broadcasting Corp. 'We are excited to be getting in on the ground floor of this emerging form of video news production,' said Lance R. Primis, president and chief operating officer of New York Times Co. 'Video News International is another building block in our television development strategy.' The company said acquisition will combine state-of-the-art video technology to the traditional newspaper role of solid factual reporting by a sole, dedicated reporter. 'The small cameras and personal contacts of the videojournalist provide intimacy and access, and the skills of the videojournalist provide the compelling images that effectively tell the story,' said Michael Rosenblum, president and co-founder of Video News International. 'The combination of low-cost, high-quality equipment and one person doing the work of four results in significantly lower production costs,' said Paul T. Gruenberg, a co-founder and chairman and CEO of Video News International. 'Therefore, news providers can purchase VNI coverage of equal or greater quality to that which they produce in-house at a fraction of the cost,' Gruenberg said.
