If you work in the journalism world, you might have heard of Matthew Keys. Keys was fired from Reuters for helping a team of hackers break into the Los Angeles' Time websites. At the time of the hack, Keys was the social media editor at Reuters. He's since been indicted on federal criminal charges. But a brush with the law isn't going to stop Keys.
Keys is still looking to provide the world with solid journalism, of sorts. He has just created a paid-subscription news site called Matthew Keys (add a .com). The site pulls the latest news from a number of sources including Twitter, and provides subscribers with quick news flashes without a lot of words. Keys debuted his site briefly the other day, but has since shut the site down until it is ready to be released in beta.
What This News Site Offers
Yesterday, I spent a good deal of time erasing news apps from my iPhone. Apps like News 360 promise to bring quick blurbs of news articles, and most of them deliver. So why erase so many? Because there are too many news sites, and none that are really mind blowing. Sites like Reuters have solid reputations and are pretty much the gold standards in the journalism world. Is there room for a site like the one that Keys has created?
The goal with Keys' site, it seems, is to provide news that can't be seen elsewhere. Or, news that isn't covered by big news outlets for various reasons. Keys also wants to show the world images of breaking news without all the hype that usually goes along with big news channel videos and clips. What you'll get from Keys' site is a complete update of news from all over the globe, instantly. But, can Keys be trusted?
Credibility Means the World
Keys has been accused of tweeting false information, of using false Twitter accounts, and of spreading rumors that aren't true. All of this could lead to mistrust by his targeted market. Since his site is a paid subscription site, it will be interesting to see whether or not people pay for the news that Keys will be posting. Those that have not heard of him before might be willing to see what he has to offer, but others may be very skeptical.
What about the site itself? How is it setup and is it something that's really groundbreaking? Well, it's hard to tell - it's harder still to consider this news site anything other than another Word Press blog. Right now, you have to have a Word Press login in order to access the site. I'm guessing that will change soon enough, though.
Do We Need Another News Site?
It depends. If you're looking for fast news facts without all of the hype, a site like the one that Keys is trying to build could be useful. Otherwise, there are plenty of ways to get news already. What do you think of this attempt to rival sites like the one Reuters has built? Will it work?