March 12, 2007
Getty Images Acquires Scoopt With Vision of Making Citizen Photojournalism More Accessible to the Mainstream Media
Amateur Photographers Who Find Themselves in the Right Place at the Right Time Will Soon Have Exposure to a Worldwide Audience
Seattle, WA, March 12, 2007.
Getty Images, Inc. (NYSE: GYI) today announced its acquisition of
Scoopt, an emerging source for user- generated editorial content. Scoopt is an aggregator and distributor of photographs and videos captured by eyewitnesses who have an accidental front row seat to headline-making moments.
In the coming months, news, sport and entertainment imagery from Scoopt that meets Getty Images' stringent editorial quality standards will be released exclusively at
http://www.gettyimages.com/editorial, where it will benefit from worldwide visibility and promotional support. Additionally, Getty Images will invest in technology upgrades and other enhancements to Scoopt in order to make the site more accessible to customers, and to better position it for future growth.
"New technology has made it easier to capture and distribute imagery, leading to citizen photojournalism that is increasingly relevant to the news cycle," said Jonathan Klein, co-founder and CEO of Getty Images.
"While this genre will never replace the award-winning photojournalism for which we're known, it's a highly complementary offering that enables us to meet the evolving imagery needs of a broad customer base."
Since the founding of Scoopt in 2005, the site has supplied the media with arresting imagery from major world events, including:
The tragic Manhattan plane crash that killed New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle and his flight instructor in October 2006; digital images captured by a bystander were emailed to Scoopt and appeared on the front page of The Times of London
Fierce January 2006 storms in the U.K., which brought devastation and disruption to large parts of the country
"User-generated content is serving a valuable role in today's communication landscape; safeguards to validate its authenticity are critical," said Hugh Pinney, director of Editorial Photography at Getty Images. "By implementing rigorous quality standards, we can deliver powerful imagery captured from a unique perspective while ensuring journalistic integrity."
Citizen photographers who submit imagery to Scoopt retain copyright while granting the agency a 12-month exclusive license that authorizes re-license to one or more publishers. Contributors will benefit from increased visibility and an extensive network of media contacts, earning a significant percentage of the value for each license issued. Both Getty Images and Scoopt encourage contributors to be respectful and follow a code of ethics for image capture. Submission guidelines and additional details about Scoopt's growing photographer community can be found at
http://www.scoopt.com.
Getty Images plans to fully integrate Scoopt into its organization, harnessing the team's knowledge of user-generated editorial content. "We're very much looking forward to taking our business to the next level by collaborating with the world's leading imagery provider," said Kyle MacRae, founder of Scoopt. "This acquisition will exponentially expand our customer base and establish a strong foundation for long-term growth."
The Scoopt team will continue to operate out of the site's base in Glasgow, Scotland, servicing customers under the leadership of Getty Images' Hugh Pinney. Existing relationships with Scoopt partners and affiliates will remain in place until further notice.
About Getty Images, Inc.
Getty Images is the world's leading creator and distributor of visual content and the first place creative professionals turn to discover, purchase and manage imagery. The company's award-winning photographers and imagery help customers create inspiring work which appears every day in the world's most influential newspapers, magazines, advertising campaigns, films, television programs, books and Web sites. Headquartered in Seattle, WA and serving customers in more than 100 countries, Getty Images believes in the power of imagery to drive positive change, educate, inform, and entertain. Visit Getty Images at
http://www.gettyimages.com.
Labels: Citizen Journalism, Getty, Ken McCoy Photojournalist, Scoopt
(C) Ken McCoy 2004
