[Scoopt site launches offering opportunity for wireless camera users to sell newsworthy pics and video for publication to the mainstream media.]

Scoopt, the world's first 'citizen journalism' picture agency, officially launches on August 4th. Now anybody with a cameraphone can sell their pictures to the press on the same terms as a professional photographer. Scoopt bridges the divide between the public and picture desk.

Using MMS and mobile email technology, Scoopt members can submit photographs straight from the scene--any scene--in seconds. Scoopt then licenses these photos for publication to the mainstream media. Membership is free and without commitment.

Scoopt members retain copyright to their photographs, and receive 50% of each and every licensing and syndication deal. This is in direct contrast to signing over universal copyright in exchange for a one-off flat fee, which is what usually happens when a member of the public tries to sell directly to a picture desk.

To protect media buyers, Scoopt applies vigorous measures to verify the authenticity of its material. Only members can submit material and Scoopt insists upon full and legally binding disclosure about each submission (the 'who/what/when/where/how'). Scoopt also has a strong internal editorial policy governing what it will and will not handle.

The Scoopt premise is simple. Virtually everybody now has a mobile phone, and virtually every mobile phone has a built-in camera. This means that somebody, somewhere, is in a position to photograph just about anything that happens on the planet.

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