ABSTRACT
Social media livestreaming appears to be hybridizing the TV news live shot, keeping some of its characteristics, dropping others, and introducing new components. With Facebook Live and Periscope, reporters are taking viewers to the heart of the action, through their own feeds and the livestreams of others. Going live was once a costly resource limited exclusively to television news stations. Livestreaming on social media has opened up this visual storytelling form to anyone with a smartphone and a Facebook or Twitter account. Core training and experience give journalists the foundation for livestreaming during a volatile situation. The metamorphosis started well before Facebook Live or Periscope, going back to the early days of Occupy Wall Street, when Tim Pool teamed up with Henry James Ferry to broadcast live on Ustream. Back in the newsroom, Louise Story manages the Times' live interactive operation.
