YouTube Tries To Help Media Find More Free Video

The YouTube Direct tool can be tweaked to fit each news outlet's needs. For instance, editors may request the phone numbers of YouTube users submitting the clips, so they could be contacted for more information.

More media outlets have been accepting contributions from freelancers and amateurs as technology as made it easier for anyone with a video camera to document an event. Newsrooms are adjusting to smaller staffs after laying off workers to cope with a sharp decline in revenue during the recession.

Some media executives have blamed YouTube's owner, Google Inc., for worsening the industry's woes.

The critics contend that Google derives some of its popularity — and profits — from content produced by newspapers and broadcasters that haven't been properly paid for their work. Google maintains it has helped news organizations by driving more readers to their Web sites.

YouTube has tested its newsgathering tool with NPR, the San Francisco Chronicle, NBC's television affiliate in Boston, Politico.com and The Huffington Post.

Although it was designed for the news media, YouTube says there's nothing to stop businesses and politicians from using the tool to collect promotional videos.