Facebook Funding Outside News Shows

Facebook  has unveiled its initial lineup of news programming that will be airing in a dedicated section of Watch, the original video content initiative the social network launched last year.

While these shows are being produced by outside media organizations, TechCrunchs reports it's Facebook that’s funding them. In a blog post, Head of News Partnerships Campbell Brown described this as an extension of the company’s announcement in January that it would prioritize meaningful social interaction over publisher content.

While that decision took a toll on digital publishers, Brown echoes CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s rationale for the move, saying that while there will be less news in users’ feeds, what remains should be “trustworthy, informative, and local.”

Below is an overview of the first slate of funded news shows for Facebook Watch:

• ABC News' “On Location” is a daily news show with ABC News journalists from around the globe delivering on-the-ground reporting and the top headlines that are driving the day.
• Advance Local's “Chasing Corruption” In Alabama Media Group’s Chasing Corruption’s weekly series, host Ian Hoppe and the Reckon by AL.com team travel across the USA to meet some of America’s toughest watchdog journalists — and the stories of conspiracy, bribery, fraud and more they’ve uncovered.
• ATTN:'s “Undivided ATTN:” is a weekly explainer show that breaks down the biggest issue of the week. In 3-5 minute episodes hosted by a rotating cast of social influencers, Undivided ATTN: will provide context on the stories everybody's talking about.
• CNN's “Anderson Cooper Full Circle” is a daily global brief on the world, M-F evenings featuring Anderson Cooper and a roster of guests. The interactive program will air live from Anderson’s New York City newsroom in mobile-friendly vertical video.
• FOX News' “Fox News Update” will focus on up-to-the minute breaking news and the most compelling stories of the day. FNC’s chief news anchor Shepard Smith will report the latest news each weekday afternoon, with Carley Shimkus updating viewers every morning. Additionally, Abby Huntsman will provide the latest headlines once each morning throughout the weekend.
• Mic's "Mic Dispatch" reveals the world as we see it: complicated, diverse and full of potential. Mic correspondents on this new, twice-weekly show go beyond the headlines to profile the underrepresented, the problem-solvers and the provocateurs."
• Univision's “Real America with Jorge Ramos” Award-winning journalist, anchor and author Jorge Ramos travels the country to talk to immigrants of diverse backgrounds and situations, delivering a rarely covered view of today’s America from their perspective. Univision will also cover the top stories in Spanish at noon every day on Watch with “Noticiero Univision Edición Digital.”