Thursday, June 23, 2011

Take advantage of Associated Press videos via Youtube

I opened up a wire story this morning about a 7-year-old from the thumb area of Michigan who was charged after driving a car 20 miles in an attempt to get to his dad's house.
Check out the AP Channel on Youtube
It's been a hot story in Michigan for the past week and I couldn't help but notice "AP Video" marked on the story file.
I looked in my AP exchange account to find the video, but had no luck. I called the customer service support line (which is 877-836-9477, by the way) and talked with someone about getting the video.
While he searched for a way to get it to me, I brought up Youtube.com to check there.
I found the AP channel and while scrolling down, I noticed a whole bunch of videos that could go with hot wire stories we posted today — there was a video of a possible twister striking the racetrack at Churchill Downs and a video on the Boston mobster 'Whitey' Bulger being arrested, a couple videos pertaining to 'Jackass' star Ryan Dunn's death and more.
The video I was originally looking for — about the 7-year-old driver — was also there.
I told the customer service representative that the videos were available on their Youtube channel and from there, I could just embed them. I thanked him for his help anyhow and hung up.
From now on, I'll be checking the AP Youtube channel daily. There's a bunch of good national stuff on there and I recommend everyone in our organization make a regular habit of checking — especially whenever you see the "AP Video" on stories you plan to upload.
I've also subscribed to the channel and set myself up with email notifications for all new videos — also not a bad idea, I think.

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