Turn readers, viewers and local communities into a visual reporting network. Collect photos and videos with source context, usage permissions, location data and a traceable handling history.
Fresh photos and videos from people on the scene.
Send a photo or video directly to the newsroom.
Audience content matters to both. The workflow and scale are what change.
When submissions arrive from across the country and serve multiple desks, BCaster connects intake, search, permissions and publishing in one workflow.
Start with a link or QR code. Reader photos arrive in one simple gallery, with publication permissions attached.
Give people a clear way to show what is happening around them. Participation can turn a passive audience into a community that contributes to your coverage.
When a reader’s observation or photo can help tell a story, the relationship becomes more than one-way consumption.
Discover local developments, fast-moving situations and perspectives your own photographers cannot always reach.
For national media, a distributed reporting network. For a local paper, a direct, ongoing connection with people in its area.
Your newsroom keeps editorial control. BCaster makes it easy for the audience to contribute and gives editors a controlled workflow for assessment, verification, moderation and publication.
Forms, messaging apps and email can receive files. Without a connected editorial workflow, permissions, source information and handling records can remain scattered across separate systems.
A basic form may capture a file without keeping the accepted terms, their version, the acceptance time, source details and later handling history together.
Content, contact details and permission conversations can remain in a message thread. Moving them into editorial systems, checking rights and managing retention can require manual work.
The attachment and permission may be in separate messages. Finding the original file and reconstructing its context later takes time, especially after it moves into an archive.
A photo or video is more than an attachment. Its permissions, provenance, searchable descriptions and handling history stay connected from collection through publication and archiving.
Your newsroom cannot be everywhere. It needs context for what comes in.
Easy for the audience to contribute. Structured for your newsroom to review, verify and integrate.
Publish a permanent submission link on your website, in print, on social media or during a broadcast.
Readers and viewers send a photo or video in their browser, without an app or a new account.
Keep the verification level, contributor details, available time and location data, and accepted usage terms with the asset.
AI generates a content description. Editors search by location or content and send selected assets to newsroom systems and the archive.
Keep a permanent reader channel for everyday coverage. Use targeted requests as a story develops.
Eyewitness photos and videos from people on the scene.
Storms, floods, northern lights and local observations on a map.
Everyday life, neighborhood changes and visual context for reader tips.
Audience perspectives from concerts, fairs, celebrations and local gatherings.
Local games, youth sports and fan photos in one editorial feed.
Find historical and recent material by content, location, metadata or event.
Customer story
Finnish news broadcaster MTV News uses BCaster to collect and manage audience weather photos and videos, with usage permissions captured as part of submission. The newsroom gains a nationwide visual network while reducing manual handling.
Send a photo or short video. Selected submissions will appear in the weekend paper and online.
A local paper does not need a large systems project to start. Launch one focused photo request, then expand into a permanent reader submission channel.
Use the same link online, on social media and in newsletters, with a QR code in print.
Stop searching through inboxes, social comments and messaging threads for photos.
The contributor accepts defined usage terms, and the record stays with the photo or video.
Connect personal-data handling, publication permissions, source context and an audit trail. Your newsroom receives more than a file: it receives the context needed to assess and use it responsibly.
Explain the collection purpose and terms to contributors. Keep records in a controlled environment with documented handling to support your privacy processes, including GDPR requirements where applicable.
Keep the accepted terms, their version and the acceptance time with the asset, not in a separate conversation.
Match verification to the use case, from open reader submissions to stronger contributor identification.
Retain a record of where content came from, the terms under which it was received and how it has been handled.
Language models generate text descriptions of photos and videos to help editors understand and search large volumes of visual content.
Search on a map or use everyday language to find locations, vehicles, weather conditions and events.
Connect BCaster through APIs to your existing editorial, publishing and archive systems. Keep the original file, usage permissions, metadata and AI description together for long-term use.
No. They open a link or scan a QR code and submit content in their mobile browser.
Yes. Start with a focused photo request or a permanent reader channel without a large integration project.
Define the collection purpose, terms and requested data transparently. Keep acceptance records and handling history traceable in a controlled environment. BCaster supports your process; it does not replace your organization’s responsibilities or its own privacy and retention policies.
Your newsroom defines the intended use and terms. Contributors accept them when submitting, and the terms version and acceptance time are recorded with the asset.
Choose a verification level appropriate to the use case. Open collection preserves relevant source context; higher-risk use cases can use stronger contributor identification. Editors retain responsibility for assessing what the content shows.
Yes. AI descriptions support content-based search alongside metadata, time and available location data. Editors can use phrases such as “a flooded road” or “a red car in a snowstorm.” AI descriptions assist discovery, not editorial verification.
Yes. API integrations can connect CMS, media asset management, production and archive systems, transferring the original file, metadata, usage permissions and AI description together.
See how audience collection, usage permissions, source checks, AI descriptions, search and integrations work together in one editorial workflow.
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