YouTube signs local TV news deal

YouTube has teamed up with a San Francisco television station, ABC7 News, to publish video news reports produced by citizens. This is the first time the world's largest video-sharing website has struck a partnership deal with a local news provider. Users can email in their photo or video reports, or upload them direct to a Google map here . Proposing possible submission ideas, ABC7 News says: "What's not working in your city? How long are those bathrooms at the park going to remain closed? Why can't they stop my street from flooding every time it rains? Who's responsible? Submit video of what's broken in your community and we'll try to get it fixed." Since the site went live six days ago, users have uploaded footage of emergency services responding to an incident, a brief interview with a local candidate for an election and footage of a protest. Videos are categorised into breaking news, events, weather and bay area scenes. "This is the first time that YouTube has teamed up with a local television station," said Olivia Ma, YouTube's news manager. "This is a project that aims to cover the San Francisco Bay area as comprehensively as possible using citizen reported news, videos and photos. "All Bay Area residents are invited to participate in the project by documenting the news and events happening around them." See the ABC7 News innovation here . Hat-tip Google Maps Mania .