Google has unveiled a tool that enables traditional television and online news agencies to create a platform to manage citizen journalists.

According to a report in MediaPost Online, platform will allow media organisations to request, review and rebroadcast clips directly from YouTube-member pages.

YouTube Direct, described as a ‘virtual assignment desk’, gives traditional news agencies the ability to tap into content uploaded and housed on Google’s video site. Through an application programming interface, the open-source application allows media organizations to put a custom version of YouTube’s upload platform on their own website.

Members upload videos directly into the application, which also enables news agencies to review submissions and select the best ones to broadcast on-air and online.

Head of news and politics on YouTube, Steve Grove, says the tool enables media companies to tap into the community of citizen journalists who upload content daily.

“Users who become popular and well-known by creating good content – one-off viral hits – for news organisations can join the partner program. We can help them make money by running ads against the videos,” explained Grove.

The platform has already been used in the US by publications such as The Huffington Post, National Public Radio (NPR), Politico, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post and WHDH-TV/WLVI-TV in Boston.