Former RTÉ broadcaster Mark Little
Former broadcaster Mark Little’s digital media start-up Storyful has been acquired by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation for an amount reportedly in the region of €18m.
Little set up Storyful three years ago after he had an epiphany around where media was heading.
In the Storyful blog today, Little wrote: “In the beginning, my first reaction to social media was suspicion. I was an old-school broadcaster who couldn’t see journalism surviving in a world where everybody was a reporter. As night followed day, news would ultimately drown in noise.
“Ironically, the desire to prevent that from happening led me to embrace the social web. I wanted newsrooms to do more than simply adapt to digital disruption. I saw it as an invitation to the news industry to start again.
“Storyful is the first news agency of the social media age. We separate news from noise. We discover and verify the most valuable content on the social web. We help the world tell its stories in the first person,” Little said.
Investors in Storyful include SOSventures and technology investor Ray Nolan.
Little said Storyful joins News Corp at a moment of transformation.
“Together, we will combine the authority of premier original content with the authenticity of user-generated content. We will define the opportunities that the digital landscape presents rather than simply adapt to them. Ours will be a powerful and unique partnership.”
Little said Storyful will continue to operate as a standalone organisation from its headquarters in Dublin.
“Our global team of journalists will continue to cover real-time news 24/7. Our technology teams will continue to build tools to power the newsrooms of the future. We will continue to serve the world’s leading news organisations (with more resources and focus).
“And we will work with brands, advertisers, non-profits and other organisations to help them realise the full potential of verified video and other online content,” Little said.
Disclaimer – SOSventures is also an investor in Siliconrepublic.com
