Gannett Trains for Video

Newspapers are hurting, must add online video.

From the post:

"You may be wondering: Why try to turn a bunch of traditional newspaper people into journalists with video kits filled with Sony cameras, audio kits, portable lights and tripods?

Because we understand the phenomenon of YouTube (Google bought the popular online video site in October for $1.65 billion) and that online video will become a $1.8 trillion (with a "t") industry. We also know that broadband access in Honolulu is among the highest in the nation. As a leading source for local news, it just makes sense for us to find out if there's an appetite for video on our Web sites.

Gannett, which owns 22 television stations and 90 newspapers, has sent its trainers to 16 sites and has held sessions for 320 people from 62 U.S. newspapers, including ours. In the United Kingdom, it has trained 68 people from 19 newspapers. And there are many more sessions to come.

Since the training began, more than 6,000 videos have been produced by Gannett newspapers. Last March, about 3,700 videos were streamed from Gannett newspaper Web sites. By December, the number was 555,123. To us, that means that there is an audience for video on newspaper Web sites."