ABC News and Thomson Higher Education Team To Offer Historic Raw Footage and Video Programming To Classrooms

ABC News and Thomson Higher Education Team To Offer Historic Raw Footage and Video Programming To Classrooms

ABC News footage and clips will be integrated into Web sites, ebooks, DVD, VHS, CD-ROM, iPod and PDA study aids for higher education classrooms

BELMONT, Calif., Sept. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ABC News VideoSource, the footage licensing group for ABC News content, and Thomson Higher Education, a global provider of teaching and learning educational materials, today announced ABC News will provide access to more than 40 years of historic raw footage and video programming to support development of a wide range of educational materials.

"News coverage is an unparalleled learning resource, and ABC News is proud to offer access to our extensive archived video collection to Thomson Higher Education," said Bernard Gershon, senior vice president and general manager of ABC News Digital Media Group. "In this unprecedented move, ABC News is innovating to reach consumers in new ways --anytime and anywhere."

"The educational value of news footage does not end with the conclusion of the event. But, until now, access to that footage often ended with the evening news," said Susan Badger, CEO of Thomson Higher Education. "Thanks to this collaboration, however, students everywhere will have a new lens through which to view the past and present, one that will greatly enhance their knowledge and understanding of significant historical events and open up to them new dimensions in learning."

ABC News will offer highlights from top rated programs including World News Tonight, Good Morning America, This Week, PrimeTime Live, 20/20, Nightline and access to numerous ABC News specials. In addition to archived raw footage, ABC News will also provide material from the Associated Press Television News and British Movietone News collections.

"This collaboration with ABC News is just a small illustration of our ongoing commitment to providing the best learning materials possible to both students and instructors," Badger added.

Thomson Higher Education will use the programming and footage to create DVD, CD-ROM, VHS, Web sites, e-books, podcasts related to the video and other online-based study aids for teachers and students, and will make these materials available for purchase. The comprehensive program is designed to provide professors innovative teaching tools to enhance traditional political science, biology, psychology, criminal justice, nutrition, economics, English and other curricula. The program also aims to engage students in significant events and improve their understanding of these events.

About ABC News and ABC News VideoSource

More Americans get their news from ABC News than from any other source. Through its platforms on television, radio and the Internet, ABC News reaches on average more than 215 million people each week. ABC News VideoSource was launched in 1995 and is part of the ABC News Digital Media Group, which also includes ABCNews.com, ABC News Now, the most extensive live and VOD news content offering in the marketplace today, ABC News International, and ABC News Productions.

About The Thomson Corporation and Thomson Higher Education

The Thomson Corporation (www.thomson.com), with 2004 revenues from continuing operations of $8.10 billion, is a global leader in providing integrated information solutions to business and professional customers. With operational headquarters in Stamford, Conn., Thomson (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC) has approximately 40,000 employees and provides services in approximately 130 countries. Its learning businesses and brands serve the needs of individuals, learning institutions, corporations and government agencies with products and services for both traditional and distributed learning. Thomson Higher Education is a leading provider of higher education textbooks, software, and Internet materials for the humanities, behavioral and social sciences, mathematics and the sciences, and business and economics. It publishes under the brands of Thomson Wadsworth, Thomson Brooks/Cole, Thomson South-Western, Thomson Heinle, and Thomson Schirmer.

Source: The Thomson Corporation

CONTACT: Adam Gaber, Senior Director, Public Relations of Thomson Learning, +1-203-539-8663, adam.gaber@thomson.com

Web site: http://thomsonlearning.com/

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