While there are a few shows on traditional television these days that incorporate online video into their programming, there hasn’t yet been one that roots 100% of its content from online sources. Now there’s i-Caught, an off-shoot of ABC News that will run for six weeks starting August 6.
Considered an experiment by executives, the plan is to see how well a show can do when it focuses only on viewer-generated news, which has appeared more and more into mainstream news outlets, particularly with high profile stories like Virginia Tech.
Executive producer David Sloan explained to Variety, “”The watershed event that changed newsgathering was the London terror attack in 2005. There were people on that subway who did not know if they would live or die, but they got out their cell phones and started shooting.”
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The problem with that explanation is that it won’t start for another two months, but the beta version of the website is live and officially accepting submissions. Any hot, contemporaneous news would be irrelevant by August. In addition, the site’s introductory video claims that the focus here will be on soldiers, celebrities, politicians, criminals, daredevils, brides, students, rockstars, friends, neighbors, politics, and “women scorned fight back.” If you still think this show will have anything to do with newsgathering, watch the video and count how many times the YouTube logo appears in the background.
Nonetheless, it seems like it could be an interesting show if done right. So if you’re interested in categorizing yourself as “women scorned fight back,” submit your video here.
