CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Post–Newsweek Stations (PNS) announced today that it has made a strategic investment in StormPins, a crowd-sourced weather and breaking-news platform used by local TV news stations and their websites. The two companies will launch the platform in all of PNS’s markets.
StormPins turns app users into citizen journalists and connects them with local TV news. From the app, users can generate 10 seconds of video, a photo and 2-way chat. All content is geo-tagged, creating a real-time breaking-news situation map that can also be broadcast live by local and national news. The app is available at www.stormpins.com and on iPhone and Android devices. Owned by Prospect Hill Advisors, LLC, StormPins was created during Hurricane Sandy in 2012 with the goal of improving communication and saving lives.
“We are excited to partner with Post–Newsweek Stations as they lead the way in digital innovation within the broadcast industry. We share their vision of how news will be consumed in the future and are excited about what we plan to build together,” said Chris Weldon, CEO of StormPins. Emily L. Barr, President and CEO of PNS, added, “We are committed to connecting and engaging with our communities, on-air, online and on mobile devices. We think the combination of crowdsourcing and location-based breaking news will be a powerful tool for our stations and our viewers.”
Catherine Badalamente, VP Digital Media of PNS, is joining the Board of Directors of StormPins. Badalamente has been at the forefront of the changing television landscape and the transition to new media throughout her career. Previously, she served as PNS’s Director of Digital Media, helping create successful multi-platform convergent campaigns for clients and stations and driving strong growth in both audience and revenue for the PNS group.
StormPins also added Scott Havens, SVP Digital for Time, Inc., to the Board. At Time, Havens is responsible for the strategy and operations of the company’s digital properties, including People, Time, Sports Illustrated, Fortune and Entertainment Weekly. Previously, Havens served as President of The Atlantic, where he oversaw the company’s finances and managed product, technology, business and audience development, ad operations and analytics across the organization’s digital assets.
Post–Newsweek Stations is a division of Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC).