News Corp. buys social news start-up Storyful for $25 million

Rupert Murdoch’s publishing company News Corp. has acquired Storyful, a start-up that finds, verifies and distributes news and videos from social media sites, to boost its online and video efforts.

The New York-based News Corp., which owns publications including the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post and the Sun, bought the Dublin, Ireland-headquartered Storyful for about $25 million, the company said on Friday.

Storyful, which calls itself a “social news agency” and sifts through social media content to distribute to newsrooms, will exist as a stand-alone business within News Corp. The publishing giant said it will build on the start-up’s business by using its own large digital presence and advertising expertise. Storyful will continue to work with its current roster of customers, including the Wall Street Journal.

ON LOCATION: Where the cameras roll

“Storyful has become the village square for valuable video, using journalistic sensibility, integrity and creativity to find, authenticate and commercialise user-generated content,” said Robert Thomson, News Corp.’s chief executive, in a statement. “Through this acquisition, we can extend the village square across borders, languages and platforms.”

Storyful will keep its Dublin headquarters, and its CEO Mark Little and Executive Editor David Clinch will still run the company, while New Corp.’s Vice President of Video Rahul Chopra will take on the additional role of Storyful’s chief revenue officer.

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