Mark Wood, ITN Chief Executive, addresses the NewsFilm Online launch event. Photo by James F. Clay
EDINA newsline
December 2008: Volume 13 Issue 4
Mark Wood, ITN Chief Executive, addresses the NewsFilm Online launch event. Photo by James F. Clay
NewsFilm Online was launched officially as a full service by JISC on 3 October at an event in London's Soho Hotel.
The service was commended by Malcolm Read, JISC Executive Secretary, and Mark Wood, Chief Executive of ITN. "We're delighted to give students and educators access to this great video content, which brings the events of the past century to life. The NewsFilm Online initiative is yet another example of the rapidly expanding use of video content at all levels of education," said Mark Wood.
A long-standing supporter of NewsFilm Online, journalist Jon Snow of Channel 4 News declared his enthusiasm on screen in a video showreel: "NewsFilm Online is an exciting and fascinating initiative: a resource which will provide educators and students with a myriad of windows into British and world history over the past century."
Initially available as a pilot service, NewsFilm Online has enjoyed rapid uptake. To date, over 200 institutions have subscribed.
NewsFilm Online offers access to over 3,000 hours of downloadable television news and cinema newsreels, selected and digitised from the huge ITN/Reuters Television archives, funded by a three-year £2.3m collaborative project between JISC, ITN and the British Universities Film & Video Council (BUFVC).
The NewsFilm Online archive starts with footage of the funeral of King Edward VII in 1910 and ends with a news clip of Jade Goody of Celebrity Big Brother in 2007. Other significant events include the Suez crisis in 1956, Nelson Mandela's first interview in 1961, the moon landing in 1969 and the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997.
Only members of subscribing UK FE and HE institutions can play or download the NewsFilm Online videos, but anyone can search or browse the service as a preview.
Authentication to NewsFilm Online is via IP (direct access) and/or UK federation, and the service is free to subscribers until at least July 2012.
New features introduced into NewsFilm Online in October include the My Favourites function, which enables UK federation users to create personal folders of their favourite news stories and scripts, and a link to the outcomes of a recent JISC-funded project (Enhancing Teaching & Learning with Digitised Resources) on how learning and teaching can be enhanced by using NewsFilm Online materials.
As with all EDINA services, we welcome any comments you may have about NewsFilm Online, which you can submit via the Contact Us link at the left-hand bottom corner of the service pages or email directly to edina@ed.ac.uk.