1st LD-Writethru: Xinhua launches new version of mobile app

Xinhua News Agency launched a new version of its mobile app on Monday, featuring real-time reporting through its focus on "On-Scene" news.

The "On-Scene" news feature of Xinhua's app signals the beginning of the digitization of mainstream media services, said Xinhua President Cai Mingzhao at the launch ceremony.

With the use of new mobile networking technology, the new "On-Scene" service aims to fully report the news at the scene in real time through integrated all media, Cai said.

With the new mobile app, Xinhua could move all its news gathering, editing and distribution processes from offline to online, boosting the agency's abilities in original news reporting, according to Cai.

The launching of Xinhua News version 3.0 is a key move in implementing Chinese President Xi Jinping's instructions delivered at a symposium on news reporting and public opinion earlier this month.

Through major upgrades, the new app uses mobile Internet technologies, including big data, cloud computing, 4G transmission and intelligent recognition, to ensure full coverage of news by Xinhua's global news network of more than 3,000 correspondents.

Cai stressed the importance of bringing audiences "ever closer to the scene."

"On-Scene" news can provide readers with a more comprehensive perspective on any news topic, he added.

Reporting on different angles and from different locations, live coverage in text, video, photo and audio formats on a single website could turn traditional multi-media news coverage into integrated all-media coverage.

In particular, the service, coupled with "virtual reality" (VR) equipment on Xinhua's drone fleet, can generate experiential and immersive news coverage and help people feel like they're at the scene, Cai said, adding that Xinhua News is the first news app in the country to be compatible with VR technologies.

Verified app users are also invited to submit video taken with their cellphones, which will be edited and included in Xinhua's news services, a process Cai said could greatly expand Xinhua's news gathering networks.

Xinhua News Agency released its first news app in June 2014, which saw an upgrade in June 2015. The app has been downloaded more than 120 million times.

The app serves not only as a platform for state-run media, but also as the country's largest unified platform for nationwide party and government organs at all levels to release administration and public service information via the mobile Internet.

Available for both iOS and Android devices, global users can access the app via mobile app distribution platforms starting Monday. Endi