YouTube partners with local news sources

Posted by Simon Day on August 5, 2009 at 2:19 PM

YouTube has branched into local news with the launch of its 'News Near You' feature, that provides local news defined by the user's server location, The New York Times reported Sunday. The Google-owned video sharing site's community service makes available video from outlets such as radio stations and newspapers.

However, as The Times points out, traditional media have reason "to be wary," as the local news channel could become a new competitor for local, online news.

The current "local sphere" of news gathering consists of a 100 mile radius. However the company is looking to reduce this area into a more hyper local area, The Times reported. Steve Grove, the head of news and politics for YouTube, said, "we'll get a smaller radius as we bring on more partners."