YouTube launches citizen journalist channel

YouTube - giving all our secrets to the people
YouTube - giving all our secrets to the people

Google has launched a channel for wannabe citizen journalists on YouTube which is aiming to teach the general public how to be better reporters.

Featuring video tutorials from the likes of Watergate reporter Bob Woodward, and the New York Times' Nick Kristof, The YouTube Reporters' Centre is hoping to build on the hype generated by the internet use during the Iran election aftermath.

"And so today, we're launching a new resource on YouTube to help citizens learn more about how to report the news, straight from the experts," explains Google's blog.

Top journalists

"It's called the the YouTube Reporters' Center, and it features some of the [US] nation's top journalists sharing instructional videos with tips and advice for better reporting.

"Learn how to prepare for an interview; or how to be an investigative reporter from the legendary Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward; or how to report on a global humanitarian crisis from Nick Kristof of the New York Times."

The channel is an offshoot of the Citizentube channel launched earlier in the month

The training channel is at http://www.youtube.com/reporterscenter, but we're not sure why we're telling you that; you'll be stealing our jobs next.

But, as all the tutorials are US centric, we can at least keep our UK secrets to ourselves. Shhh.

Patrick Goss

Patrick Goss is the ex-Editor in Chief of TechRadar. Patrick was a passionate and experienced journalist, and he has been lucky enough to work on some of the finest online properties on the planet, building audiences everywhere and establishing himself at the forefront of digital content.  After a long stint as the boss at TechRadar, Patrick has now moved on to a role with Apple, where he is the Managing Editor for the App Store in the UK.