Hearst Television has launched a series for Facebook Watch that features local reporting from the company’s TV stations in 26 markets in the U.S.
The show, Dispatches from the Middle, is produced for and funded by Facebook. It is part of an investment the social media platform is making to test a destination for quality, timely news content.
The show will appear in a new section within Facebook Watch for news. Other shows in the section are coming from ABC News, the ABC owned station group, Bloomberg, CNN, Fox News, Tegna and Univision.
“Hearst Television’s approach to Dispatches from the Middle gives us an opportunity to see what happens when a national audience is presented with stories from smaller communities across the country,” said Shelley Venus, video lead, news partnerships, Facebook. “I look forward to seeing what we can learn about this type of storytelling on Facebook as the series unfolds.”
For Hearst, the show represents an effort to put its station’s content on additional platforms.
“So much of today’s news emanates from New York, Washington or Los Angeles, but what we know at Hearst Television is that amazing, authentic, and genuine stories are being told around the country every day,” said Andrew Fitzgerald, Hearst Television VP and chief digital content officer. “We think it’s time to give those very real stories, and the people behind them, the greater attention they deserve. Dispatches from the Middle highlights surprising and under-reported stories from all around the United States; each episode will showcase one of these compelling local stories, giving it a well-deserved in-depth dive for a national audience.”
