From cradle to grave, NBC wants to be your source for news.
The network unveiled its new education initiative during a presentation at 30 Rock Thursday. NBC News President Steve Capus, Nightly News anchor Brian Williams and NBC News CFO Adam Jones schooled a small group of reporters on the new developments.
The main focus was on Archives On Demand, which will provide thousands of videos from the NBC News archives and other sources, to be available online for all grade levels through the teacher-student Web site Hotchalk.
“We’re all trying to find ways to reach younger viewers and readers,” Capus said. “This is how we think we’re going to do it.”
Other initiatives include iCue, Channel One and the NYFA Digital Journalism program (which advertises with mediabistro.com).
“This is the future of NBC News in every sense,” said Capus. “These businesses become central to the core mission of NBC News.”
Williams described the power of the Archives On Demand in providing video of historical and current events rather than just print versions. He cited Robert Kennedy‘s speech after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.. “I will bet you they will remember it henceforth, more than they will in any text they read,” said Williams.
CFO Adam Jones says the plan will help cash-strapped schools control costs. “A single textbook can cost 70-80 dollars,” Jones said. “This will amount to less than three dollars a student.” But the initiative is a money-maker for NBC as well; just how much, was not disclosed by the network.
In addition, NBC has added “60-70 people” to the payroll to launch the initiatives.