MUMBAI: Now we know what firebrand journo Faye D’souza will be doing. She has partnered with short video content platform FireWork. A channel called Facts first with Faye has been launched.
Its focus: “Everything you need to know about what’s happening in the world. News like it should be done.”
The channel has already got 727 followers, and Faye has been posting videos of between 20-30 seconds each. And the stories cover a wide swathe of topics: Harry & Meghan’s Mexit, Transgenders in Census, Controversial Brazil President to visit India, India ranked 76 out of 82, Shah won’t withdraw CAA, India Dragging Global economy, Delhi under NSA, among many others.
Faye has been giving her unique take in the news clips. For instance: “Brazil’s president being the chief guest at the republic day parade, sends a signal that we are encouraging that kind of culture.”
The videos are simple and have her giving pieces to camera – shot probably with her phone - interspersed with graphics.
Faye has also been active on twitter. And she has been pretty brazen and fearless. Her response to a tweet posted by NDTV stating that Amit Shah has dared Rahul Gandhi, Mamta Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav to a public debate on Citizenship Act at rally in Lucknow went as follows: “Mr Home Minister. I respectfully volunteer to debate with you on the CAA. Just say when!”
Firework India CEO Sunil Nair said “Firework’s news segments with Faye D’Souza will be a gamechanger in the short format video category. This format of news is crafted keeping in mind the preferences of younger millennials between the age of 18 and 25, matching their fast-paced lifestyle and their need to consume content on the go in vertical format. Youngsters in this age group prefer quick news rather than extended television debates, and at the same time is a concerned and well-informed citizen. This is where Firework’s news format will be disruptive providing the point information without the repetitious and at times frivolous long format broadcast news. The current generation does not identify with many of the faces that have been on TV channels for a really long time, Faye helps news bridge the gap and talks directly to her audience in a way that they understand the news quickly”.
This will be a first of its kind interactive news that will enable real time interaction between Faye and her viewers, driving deeper engagement and participation. Initially Faye will post 4 news segments on weekdays and with a single segment on the weekends. Each segment will be a 30 second clip titled “Facts First with Faye”
Faye D’Souza said “News today offers anything but clarity of information. The youth in India are intelligent, opinionated and are looking for a source of news that gives them unbiased information in a short and crisp format that can be consumed “on the go”, 'Facts First with Faye’ will do just that. Firework is an innovative tech led platform that will help offer news and entertainment to the youth that prefers to ignore long drawn and unverified commentary”
Firework launched its video network in India in October 2019 and takes pride in its two- step moderation protocol. While its moderation is largely based on AI algorithms, its content also goes through careful human moderation. This will ensure that any content that is distributed is not only within the legal boundaries of India, but also filters content that may be discriminatory towards any section of the democracy.
