Pro-Am Site Sells Stake

A website which enables amateur and professional reporters to sell visual content has sold 60% of its shares to a news agency and media company.

Citizenside.com, formerly known as Scooplive, buys and sells pictures and video footage and is now part-owned by Agence France-Presse (AFP) and IAM.

The website buys material from both individuals and paid journalists, sharing with them the commission from sales made to news groups around the world.

AFP chairman Pierre Louette said of his company’s purchase: “This gives us the opportunity to conduct a commercial and technologic experience in the world of Web 2.0 for the benefit of our clients, mainly in the media sector.”

He added: “AFP will not be involved in the editorial process of selection and validation of the documents available on the platform.”

A press release from AFP also revealed that citizenside.com is seeking to enhance its international presence and increase its number of partnerships with print, TV, online and mobile media.

Scooplive was launched in June last year by Julien Robert, Philippe Checinski and Matthieu Stefani.