Agency Video: Hold the front page | Reuters News Agency

Agency Video: Hold the front page

Newsroom and frontline view of the last few weeks

By Yann Tessier | May 8, 2019

We excelled on last week’s top international story, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido’s unsuccessful bid for power in the beleaguered Latin American country.

 

  • First and exclusive with a live signal of Guaido and Lopez on the bridge after the call for an uprising.
  • Day long live of dramatic clashes, including anti-riot trucks running over protesters
  • Just short of 1,000 channels broadcasted Reuters footage – favored for its thrilling liveshots. Grabs of our video ended up on the front pages of major newspapers.

It was really the first time that I felt we were in a very dangerous situation because the soldiers who joined Guaido’s uprising were fully armed with heavy artillery, the kind you would see in a war zone, it was one of the first times I have felt unsafe.”

— Efrain Otero, Senior Producer – Venezuela, Reuters

The annual May Day events saw traditional marchers joined by Yellow Vest activists in Paris. A long day of street violence and clashes followed with riot police in running battles with protestors. 316 channels used Reuters live and edited coverage, offering a view from the top and fighting on the ground.

The Easter Day bombings in Sri Lanka brutally claimed the lives of up to 260 people and injured scores, making it the dominant story of last week.

The Islamic State angle, the fear of further atrocities and the fact that the 40 foreigners who perished came from more than a dozen countries amplified the shock.

Our Asia Editor Ahmed Assar summarised how we’ve managed to provide unequivocally comprehensive coverage for clients:

  • First with uppick material of the blast.
  • Ahead on being Live from St Anthony’s church. Our balcony vantage point offered superior material.
  • Live from the prime minister’s news conference first and exclusive with live explosion of a device.
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We were alone with a sit-down interview with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif reacting to oil sanctions.

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We were live and exclusive with a couple of key protests, our comprehensive coverage allowed 378 channels to broadcast the very colorful climate change protests that have hit the UK.

We’re not just about hard news. We were the first news outlet to get a video interview with Mathieu Shamavu, the park ranger in the Democratic Republic of Congo whose ‘gorilla selfie’ went viral with tens of millions of views.

We do not simply help ourselves to stuff from the internet – which is unethical, illegal, and theft. We spend considerable amounts of time verifying video, and we check, check again and get permission to use it. We added considerable value by getting an interview with Mathieu in the middle of the gorilla park in the middle of the DRC. It’s a cracking story, that got loads of traction online.

“It’s a compelling combination when you’ve got UGC and an interview with the person who shot it,” said Hazel Baker our head of UGC newsgathering.