Fwix launches real-time newswire service in UK

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There used to be something here that couldn't be migrated - please contact us at info@journalism.co.uk if you'd like to see this updated! Fwix , a local newswire service aggregating online sources, has launched sites for eight UK cities.

The service, which already serves 80 US and Canadian cities, uses in-house technology to aggregate and filter news from sources, including local newspaper websites and blogs, relevant to a specific area.

This week's launch will see Fwix sites go live for Andover, Belfast, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London and Newcastle.

Launching in Andover is a test to see how the service works for a smaller population size, Darian Shirazi, founder and CEO of Fwix, told Journalism.co.uk. The city sites require around 50 local sources to work well and around 1,000 sources are being used by the UK sites.

In a competitive marketplace, Fwix, which has secured close to $3 million in funding, will better filter sources for readers to differentiate itself from other aggregators, said Shirazi.

"One of the things about Twitter, real-time search and aggregators - they publish everything. There really isn't any filtration at all, as they don't have the technology to publish things that you really want to read," he explained.

Fwix's team of human editors select and vet sources, whose news items are then processed and filtered by the site's technology.

The site hopes to drive traffic towards sources, while creating a Fwix interface around news items, so readers can leave comments and share articles through Fwix.

Users of the sites can suggest new sources and if demand builds for new Fwix services for other areas the technology can be quickly rolled out, he added. Users can sign up to sites using their Facebook and Twitter accounts and alerts are provided when members of your networks also join the service.

The company is planning to expand further in the English-speaking world, where its technology can be supported, he added.

According to Shirazi, the company's cash base is good and can currently support such new launches. However, alternative revenue streams are being considered, mainly around advertising, and Shirazi said he could also see potential in syndication deals for Fwix's technology to power real-time newswires on other news sites.

The company wants the sites to help promote and distribute the work of individual journalists, particularly those who have turned to blogging after redundancies.

"We don't want to cut the journalist out. We don't want to cause journalists to lose money by being part of the Fwix community. We don't want them to see it as us making money and taking their content away," says Shirazi, adding that, in addition to driving traffic to their sites, there is potential for further revenue-shares with individuals.

The sites can also be used as a newsgathering tool for journalists looking to track new trends and new leads in their area, he said. Last month the service released its API , which, in addition to allowing sites to embed Fwix streams, will soon allow users to specify a search for stories within a certain radius from their location.

"It will allow for it, but one of the things we believe is that hyperlocal [demand] is currently a few years out, unless you're in one of the bigger cities," added Shirazi.