WebProNews

Tag: breaking news coverage

  • Boston Marathon: Explosions Rock the Finish Line; Injuries, Deaths Reported

    (Image courtesy Dan Lampariello)

    [UPDATE 5:] It is now being reported that three people, including an 8-year-old boy, have died. Over 150 people were injured in the blasts.

    [UPDATE 4:] Boston Police have stated that the explosion at the JFK Presidential Library was fire-related.

    [UPDATE 3:] A third explosion at the JFK Presidential Library is being treated by Boston police as potentially related to the first two explosions.

    Amateur video of the explosions is now beginning to appear online:

    [UPDATE 2:] It is now being reported that the explosions were caused by bombs and that more explosive devices have been found. Police are currently dismantling them. Police are treating bags abandoned at the scene as potentially dangerous.

    Marathon runners who have not completed the race have been diverted to Boston Common

    [UPDATE:] The Boston Police Department is currently reporting that 23 people have been injured and two people have died as a result of the explosions.

    [ORIGINAL]
    Two explosions have reportedly gone off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. The cause of the explosions, which occurred near viewing stands on Boylston Street, has not yet been determined.

    Reports from the scene of the explosions indicate that several people have been injured, some of them severely. Sean Kelly, a reporter for Boston news station WCVB has been tweeting updates on the situation since the explosions occurred and revealed that at least some of the injured have lost limbs:

    Other citizens who were at the scene also took to social media, sharing video of the explosion and graphic pictures of the aftermath:

  • Huffington Post and Ustream Strike an Exclusive Deal

    Today, Ustream Inc., and the Huffington Post struck an exclusive deal that gives Huffington Post access to live-streaming videos from the site’s citizen journalists.

    It’s a unique opportunity for both organizations. Ustream’s coverage can now be viewed by the Post’s near 37 million monthly readers, and the Huffington Post will gain access to diverse coverage of breaking events from all over the globe.

    Here’s what the duo had to say in their press release about the partnership:

    At 3:30 p.m. (EST) sharp, be part of the groundbreaking exclusive live press announcement event with Editor-in-Chief of Huffington Post Arianna Huffington and CEO of Ustream Brad Hunstable by watching and providing commentary through Ustream’s exclusive social stream at Ustream.tv/huffingtonpost. Additionally, after the live-announcement, Ustream’s up-and-coming citizen journalist Luke “We Are Change” Rudkowski will give his perspective on why being a citizen journalist is important for today’s society especially with this generations’ greater access to mobile devices worldwide.

    Arianna Huffington, president and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post Media Group comments on the new deal with Ustream:

    “We launched Off The Bus in 2007 to go beyond the one-dimensional horse-race aspect of election coverage and actually respond to the widespread dissatisfaction about the way campaigns are covered,”

    “So I’m delighted that we are partnering with Ustream for Off The Bus 2012, and renewing our commitment to holding politicians accountable and telling the stories that need to be told by tapping into a wide range of voices and perspectives.”

    Brad Hunstable, CEO and co-founder of Ustream comments on the deal with the Huffington Post:

    “Citizen journalism is increasingly democratizing the Internet with live Ustream news events playing an important role,”

    “Our partnership with Huffington Post will further push forward this trend and our mission to enable anyone, anywhere to share their stories. By combining Huffington Post’s world-class news reporting with Ustream’s live video citizen journalism, viewers everywhere will now have a raw and unedited perspective of diverse voices on the world’s most important events.”

    In the last three years, Ustream has produced mobile apps for iPhone, iPad and Android devices making the process of streaming live broadcasts easier than ever. As a result, viewing on mobile devices has increased over 50%, and 1 out of 8 live broadcasts are coming from mobile devices.