New York Times Reporters have a brand new way to upload from the field.
The New York Times Research and Development team, or R&D, has created an app called Beam, which allows reporters to file media directly to the Times newsroom — from anywhere they are, from their mobile devices. Originally used for photographers, the app has now taken the next step.
“Beam now allows reporters to file videos, automatically encoding and routing them to the right place in our CMS instead of relying on clunky third party tools,” the team wrote in an informational post.
R&D writes that Beam has become a “vital” part of the Times newsroom, as the technology is now used to cover live, breaking news events. The 2023 Oscars were a trial run for the technology.
Beam was created to replace a clunkier software, which the Times called “backpacks.” These “tethered image transmission from a camera using an array of computers and battery packs in a backpack,” R&D writes. Going from a physical weight on one’s back to a seamless app was no easy road, as the Times wrote that this project has been in development since 2019.
This fits today’s times and trends. Some refer to this time as a “digital revolution.” According to Pew Research Center, a large majority of U.S. adults (86%) say they often or sometimes get news from a smartphone. This outpaces television, radio, and print. That’s not all — 56% of this group said they prefer to get news from a digital device like a smartphone. In a world where most news is received from a phone, that news should be produced with phones in mind — that is, why not make it on a phone itself? By putting their trust in smartphone journalism, the New York Times has continued to stay on the cutting edge of what is possible for media.
Beam has increased accessibility, speed, and accuracy in mobile reporting. This tool also allows a greater volume of media to be transported faster, giving journalists (and consumers) more options. I’m excited for it to be more widely distributed — in an ideal world years down the road, I would love for Beam to become an industry standard.
My two co-ops at the Boston Globe have relied heavily on iPhone reporting. I’ve used it to cover local and global events, like last year’s visit from Prince William and Princess Kate. I’ve also used my iPhone as an important video tool. But video transmission, i.e. getting videos from a phone to an editing server, is one of the biggest challenges. Your reporting can be as fast as you want, but you can’t control processing speed.
If I used Beam, my reporting would have been faster and easier for readers to consume in the moment. I also would have been able to transport more footage, audio, and photos, giving my editors more options to work with. Beam eliminates the middleman, in a way, giving journalism directly to the newsroom and the consumers.
Clara McCourt 