Don’t think Facebook Watch is a video venue with legs?
You’d better take a closer look at it, since one of the nation’s biggest owners of broadcast TV stations has just launched a series specifically designed to expand the audience of its local newscasts to the ubiquitous social media platform.
Introducing “Dispatches from the Middle,” a new web series from Hearst Television that provides a showcase for reports originating from the newsroom of its broadcast TV stations found in 26 TV markets across the U.S.
What will Facebook Watch viewers see?
As shown in the link below, KETV-7 in Omaha anchor/reporter Alexandra Stone hosts a seven-minute in-depth report on a particular story of note to a national audience.
In this initial episode, Stone shares the story of the family of an elementary school teacher who was beaten, sexually assaulted and strangled to death in December 1992 that has waited more than 25 years for the killer to be brought to justice. Now, DNA evidence has lead to an “incredible breakthrough” in the unsolved homicide.
In June 2018, investigators announced that the murder of Christy Mirack was likely carried out by Raymond Rowe, a Lancaster-based party DJ.
DNA evidence leads to shocking break in 26-year-old unsolved homicide
The brutal homicide of a Pennsylvania schoolteacher went unsolved for 26 years. In June 2018, the community was turned upside down when a popular local DJ was finally arrested for her murder. The astonishing methods used to identify the suspect could be the key to closing many more cold cases.
Posted by Dispatches from the Middle on Sunday, September 9, 2018
Footage was taken from Hearst-owned WGAL-8 in Lancaster, Pa.
“It has been my privilege to work on this new series,” Stone said in a Tweet on Monday (9/10).
Interestingly, “Dispatches from the Middle” is produced for— and funded by— Facebook.
Hearst is benefiting from an investment the platform is making “to test a destination for high quality and timely news content,” Hearst says.
“Dispatches from the Middle” will appear in a newly launched dedicated section within Facebook Watch for news, along with shows from other news organizations such as ABC News and the ABC-owned stations, Bloomberg, CNN, Fox News, TEGNA and Univision.
“So much of today’s news emanates from New York, Washington or Los Angeles, but what we know at Hearst Television is that amazing, authentic, and genuine stories are being told around the country every day,” Hearst Television VP/Chief Digital Content Officer Andrew Fitzgerald said. “We think it’s time to give those very real stories, and the people behind them, the greater attention they deserve.”
Shelley Venus, Video Lead for News Partnerships, Facebook, commented, “Hearst Television’s approach to ‘Dispatches from the Middle’ gives us an opportunity to see what happens when a national audience is presented with stories from smaller communities across the country. I look forward to seeing what we can learn about this type of storytelling on Facebook as the series unfolds.”
