What new, if any, creative opportunities for news might there be in the video live-streaming that’s all the rage with the new Periscope and Meerkat apps that enable real time delivery of videos via mobile phones? 

It’s too early to tell, of course, but certainly not too early to contemplate how the newest live-streaming apps might or could change how we get the news as well as who covers it and the definition of news itself. Citizen reporters, for example, could grow in numbers. Community and local news could get a significant new platform. News from around the world could instantaneously be on view. 

Still there is some skepticism about live news feeds. The big gas explosion in New York last week was the first big news event live-streamed via Periscope and Meerkat. The response in some circles was less than enthusastic, which was the case with Jason Brogan in Slate.

Live-streaming has been around for a while but with mixed use and success. What’s different now is that Periscope and Meerkat are powered by, besides the latest technology, marketing savvy and favorable mobile trends. Twitter owns Periscope. Meerkat’s introduction at SXSW was a smart, attention-getting move.   

Though fans and detractors are emerging for both apps, what the two have in common is the large and fast growing numbers of mobile users who are well versed in using their phones for far more than talking. News and information gathering, for example, are popular subjects mined on phones, according to surveys by the Pew Research Center and Reynolds Journalism Institute.

Even as you think about different ways to experiment with live-streaming news, learning about the various live-streaming tools is a good exercise. In “5 livestreaming apps for journalists and newsrooms,” Alastair Reid provides overviews for both Periscope and Meerkat as wells as pros and cons for each. He does the same for Stre.am, Livestream and Ustream, three other live-streaming services.