For information contact:

Jason Gordon, jason@pkpr.com

Patrick Kowalczyk, patrick@pkpr.com

PKPR, 212.627.8098

Caty Borum Chattoo, cchattoo@linktv.org

For video & photos: http://news.linktv.org/apps  

REINVENTING GLOBAL NEWS FOR THE YOUTUBE ERA:

LINK TV WORLD NEWS iPAD APP CURATES BEST NEWS VIDEOS, RAW VIDEOS, AND

DOCUMENTARIES, RELATED ARTICLES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

App showcases top world news culled from more than 125 video news outlets,

eyewitnesses on the ground, and more than 50,000 global news sources

San Francisco, CA (October 30, 2012) -Revolutions happen. Russian punk rockers are sent to jail. The shooting of a 14-year-old Pakistani girl galvanizes a country - and the world.  A free iPad app launching today helps viewers make sense of global events by curating the best television news, raw videos, and documentaries from around the world.

With a recent Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism study revealing that more people than ever are turning to YouTube for breaking international news, the LinkTV World News app for iPad is for news junkies overwhelmed by the glut of online video and underwhelmed by mainstream coverage of international news.  Paul S. Mason, president and CEO of Link TV, noted that a simple YouTube search for "Libya" may generate more than 200,000 results, with little guidance as to which videos are the most informative, relevant, and trustworthy.

"The LinkTV World News app does the heavy lifting so users don't have to," said Mason. "A team of seasoned journalists using the best semantic 'smart search' technology sifts through thousands of newscasts and raw videos to bring people the stories that matter most."

Feature highlights include:

• Watch the world's most EYE-OPENING NEWS VIDEOS, selected by a team of international editors from over 125 mainstream, state-run, and alternative outlets, including BBC, Reuters, CNN, France 24, The Guardian, The New York Times, Democracy Now!, and more.
• Go behind the news with user-generated RAW VIDEOS related to stories of the day
• Use an interactive WORLD MAP to explore the world's video news
• Leveraging the latest SEMANTIC TECHNOLOGY, the app filters through more than 50,000 INTERNATIONAL NEWS SOURCES - from major newspapers to small local blogs - to provide users with deeper context around every video story.
• Watch FEATURE DOCUMENTARIES from around the world--providing the bigger picture behind breaking news
• Learn more about global issues and trends through comprehensive IN-DEPTH SECTIONS featuring VIDEO TIMELINES, and up-to-the minute Twitter updates.
• PERSONALIZE GLOBAL NEWS FEEDS of world news and topics to follow
• TAKE ACTION on world issues

The app was created by Link TV, the independent digital media company and television network dedicated to connecting US audiences with coverage of international news and culture. The app was developed in partnership with The Bertha Foundation, a leader in supporting social impact media projects.  Earlier this month, Link TV announced its expected merger with KCET, the Los Angeles-based independent public TV station; the expected merged organization, KCETLink, is one of the nation's largest independent public TV networks and is described as "a transmedia company that acquires, produces and distributes provocative global programming targeted to a national audience across multiple media platforms." 

"It is an increasingly connected and complex world, and The Bertha Foundation believes it is vitally important to offer access to a diversity of voices, whether it be from a veteran broadcaster or an eyewitness," said Rebecca Lichtenfeld of Bertha Philanthropies.

The app was designed by Method, the award-winning firm behind innovative media experiences including the BBC iPlayer and the NBC Politics App.  It leverages a wide range of semantic tools to surface the best video coverage and related articles and information, including Zemanta, Freebase, and Daylife.

Link TV has also partnered with digital video platform VidCaster to develop a GoogleTV app that delivers the same curated collection of international news videos.

With the app, Link TV builds upon its 13-year track record of using satellite TV and digital media to connect audiences to international news coverage they cannot find anywhere else. It broadcasts and streams groundbreaking programs focused on the Middle East (Mosaic), Asia (LinkAsia), and the Americas (Inside Story Americas), as well as documentaries and television series like the acclaimed Danish drama Borgen, which Newsweek called "The best political show ever."

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About Link Media & Link TV

Link Media uses media and the power of stories to engage, inform and inspire its audiences to participate in transformational, sustainable change on issues of global importance. Founded in 1999, Link Media operates the Link TV national network and the websites LinkTV.org, LinkNews and ViewChange.org. An independent and non-commercial media company, Link Media acquires, produces and delivers global news, documentaries and cultural programming over three distribution channels: broadcast, Web and mobile devices.

Link TV is available as basic service on DIRECTV channel 375 and DISH Network channel 9410, reaching more than 33 million US households. Select Link TV programming also airs on 220 cable outlets, including in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, reaching an additional 22 million homes. Link also streams much of its content online at LinkTV.org. For complete background information, program schedule and Internet streaming, go to LinkTV.org. Follow on Twitter @linktv, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/linktv.

About The Bertha Foundation

The Bertha Foundation believes in the power of social activism. We champion passionate lawyers, storytellers, and social entrepreneurs working towards a more decent and just world.

• Lawyers: We aim to inspire and enable the work of socially minded lawyers and are committed to strengthening the field of public interest law.

• Storytellers: We believe in the power of visual storytelling to educate, inform and inspire action, and are dedicated to supporting the creation and distribution of social impact media projects. Documentaries are central to this vision.

• Social Entrepreneurs: When people have the right tools and opportunities, they are best placed to solve their own problems. We support those using business principles and innovation to create sustainable large-scale change.