Big news in the world of participatory journalism, with MSNBC buying Newsvine for an undisclosed sum. Newsvine continues to operate as a separate site, while MSNBC looks at ways of incorporating its social and community features.
Newsvine CEO Mike Davidson explains the deal on his personal blog:
So why would an independent, cost-efficient, growing startup like Newsvine which has taken very little venture capital want to join a huge organization like msnbc.com? The answer comes down to global impact. Our goal at Newsvine has always been to spread the ethos of participatory news as far and wide as possible, and what more dramatic way can that be accomplished than with a partner who reaches 85 million computers a month and has an offline presence on nearly every television set in the country?
On his personal blog, Rex Sorgatz, executive producer of MSNBC.com, explains why it bought Newsvine:
I’m convinced that Newsvine represents a different way of thinking about traditional media — as merger of gathering, interacting, and consuming. By positing news as an ecosystem rather than a hierarchy, the philosophy of Newsvine is actually an old one. News has always been conversational, but only recently have we begun to rediscover the tools to bring it back to its networked mode.
This is MSNBC’s first acquisition in its 11-year history. PaidContent speculates that MSNBC paid between $5 million-$7 million in an all cash deal. Multiple companies were in the bidding process, and the deal closed Friday. I wonder if this will lead to a stampede by other mainstream media organisations to snap up participatory journalism sites?
Filed under: Web 2.0, citizen journalism, social media , journalism, MSNBC, Newsvine
