
NBC News launches a twice-daily Snapchat news broadcast - blegh
https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/19/nbc-news-launches-stay-tuned-a-twice-daily-snapchat-news-broadcast/
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danso
There's only the briefest mention in the OP of NBC Universal being an
investor, but it's worth mentioning than NBCU (a part of Comcast) is one of
Snapchat's biggest investors, with a $500M stake:
[http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/03/nbc-invests-500-million-in-
sn...](http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/03/nbc-invests-500-million-in-snapchat-
ipo.html)

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justinrstout
This feels like a natural extension of stories, where previously it was a
sequence of short videos shot by your friends, now it's a sequence of slightly
longer videos shot by a professional news organization. So in the short term
I'm sure it will draw in more eyeballs to watch more ads, but long term it
seems like it does nothing to bridge the gap between the traditional "social"
functions of Snapchat with the news content delivery aspect; they almost feel
like two separate apps.

As for the show itself, it's ok. It's a really quick flyover of the daily
headlines; reminded me a lot of a radio news headline briefing you might hear
on NPR or similar, just with video added. I think it's unfair to hate on it
because it's "too short, too high-level, too vapid, etc.". Of course it's not
hard-hitting original in-depth journalism but it's a convenient way to get the
headlines quickly, on-demand, anywhere, without waiting for a dedicated TV or
radio program. Especially in these days of heightened political interest, it's
hard to argue that it's better for someone to remain completely ignorant of
U.S. and world affairs rather than consume news in a format that may not be
the most detailed or the most interesting to you personally.

Side rant: I can't help but feel personally offended whenever I read an
article or comment that assumes I have a "low attention span" just because I'm
a Snapchatting millennial. The variety of social backgrounds encompassed by
the term "millennial" is so broad that blanket insults like "low attention
span" border on outright ageism.

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ikeyany
You make a good point. Low attention spans aren't a millennial thing--it's a
human nature thing. Snapchat and facebook may benefit from this phenomenon the
most, but HN does too.

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goldfeld
It's not nature, it's in society and it's a bit like a plague numbing it down
to real feelings and deeper thoughts.

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nategri
I remember when people on digg would ceaselessly hate on twitter back in 2008,
and now here I am on HN in 2017, ceaselessly hating on Snapchat.

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Thrymr
"They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright
brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown." \- Carl Sagan

The trick is being able to tell Bozo from Einstein a priori.

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goldfeld
Also maybe no one will laugh but only indicate laughter and be clinically
depressed a few years down the line.

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INTPenis
Anyone with young kids up to their teens will know that Facebook is gone and
snapchat is the new hot. Also instagram which is owned by Facebook but the
point is that the next generation don't want to hang out on a social media
network with their parents. Always looking for new things.

While also looking at features like the snaps.

So introducing grown up news into snapchat might not actually be a good long
term choice for the platform.

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russdpale
This is smart on NBC's behalf, and Comcast. Personally, this is more of the
merging between "News" and Entertainment that I find disturbing. Fortunately,
I don't use snap, and never would consider using it.

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metalliqaz
Hey, if that's what it takes to reach new potential viewers, then they should
go for it.

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tpeo
Don't know, man. Every time part of the establishment (i.e. everything that's
already out there and have already made a name for themselves) tries to reach
out for the younger crowd it makes itself more démodé, not less so.

I've never used Snapchat, though. So I don't know whether this is cool or
uncool by their community's standards.

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zjaffee
The NYTimes has absolutely been able to adapt to the digital age successfully,
so why can't any other news organization. The trick is to remove any
executives who are afraid of change rather than embracing it.

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watter
I thought they had a ton of debt, largely for their new offices? Did that
change?

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angryasian
they are starting to sound more like a media company than a camera company

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moolcool
Were they ever really a camera company? (Excluding those stupid glasses)

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angryasian
well thats what they claimed on their filings.

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cantbecool
Nice it will be in between the Kardashian fit booty and what to do when he
cheats stories. Snapchat is a wasteland.

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rubatuga
People use Snapchat for many reasons, sponsored stories are just one of many.

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skciva
Its definitely not for substantial news.

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komali2
By your definition of substantial.

We can try to argue about the definition of "substantial" if you want, but in
the end, the fact is that I can find you ten thousand young teens that don't
give a fuck about politics and do give many fucks about a Kardashian booty
transplant.

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bogomipz
I think its pretty clear and universal what "news of substance" means in the
context of news journalism. In fact most newspapers have a separate section
for entertainment for this reason.

Your comment and diction seem be the very definition of "insubstantial."

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komali2
>Your comment and diction seem be the very definition of "insubstantial."

At least I never resorted to personal attack.

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bogomipz
I didn't attack you personally, I commented on the content of your comment.

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komali2
Getting deeper into this is a waste of both of our times, but for the record,
the reason I felt it was a personal attack was challenging my "diction" seems
to challenge my very ability to string together words. I took it as being told
"you talk like a dumb dumb and therefore your argument holds no weight."

If that's not what you meant, well, that's fine, maybe I'm being over
sensitive, but that is how your words were received.

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maga_man_69
Why would we choose to read the sort of fake news that olds deliberately
poison their minds with?

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dang
We've banned this account for trolling. Doing this on HN will eventually get
your main account banned as well, so would you please not do this?

