As part of a multi-million pound digitisation project, JISC (Joint Information Systems Committee) have announced the launch of the web-based news archive NewsFilm Online. The site will supply scholars and educators with access to more than 3,000 hours of newsreel material to search through and manipulate.

Users from subscribing Further and Higher Education establishments are permitted to download, edit and distribute clips from the film content as part of the learning process; a first for the use of such material in the sector. The service however is free for anyone to browse and search through.

The launch today comes from the collaboration between JISC, ITN Source, who supplied the raw material, the BUFVC (British Universities Film and Video Council) who digitised and selected the material and JISC’s national datacentre, EDINA, who designed and host the service.

The launch ceremony held at an exclusive central London hotel was introduced by well-known news presenter, Jon Snow who said “NewsFilm Online is an exciting and fascinating initiative: A resource which will provide educators and students with a myriad of windows into British and world history over the past century”

The content from ITN Source ranges from footage taken in 1910 of the funeral of King Edward VII going right up to the modern day with coverage taken from reality TV show Big Brother in 2007 following the furore over racist bullying. Other significant footage includes the moon landings, the Suez crisis (at the time deemed too upsetting to be shown to the public) and the death of the Princess of Wales in 1997. ITN Source itself represents the world’s biggest moving image libraries from sources including ITN, Reuters, Fox News, Channel 4, British Pathe and Granada.

Also speaking at the launch, ITN Chief Executive Mark Wood said, “We’re delighted to give students and educators access to this great video content, which brings the events of the past century to life. The NewsFilm initiative is yet another example of the rapidly expanding use of video content at all levels of education.”

The £2 million digitisation effort was funded by JISC with backing from the Higher Education Funding Councils for England and Wales (HEFCE) as part of a wider £22 million scheme. The HEFCE is responsible for allocating the necessary resources for making similar important materials available for academic communities in the UK.