Facebook will create a section for ‘hard news video’ within Watch

Facebook’s Instant Articles paywall will finally roll out to its iOS apps on March 1, says company’s head of news partnerships Campbell Brown. Since joining Facebook as its head of news partnerships early last year, former CNN anchor Campbell Brown’s two priorities are: (1) to help publishers improve the revenue they generate from the content they distribute on the social network and (2) to increase the visibility of higher-quality sources of news on the social network On Monday, Brown offered details on two ways she will try to satisfy those ambitions.First, Facebook will experiment with a section within its Watch video hub dedicated to “hard news video,” Brown said on stage at Recode’s Code Media conference in Huntington Beach, California. In addition to being a destination for people seeking out news videos, the section will also serve as an opportunity for Facebook to highlight coverage of breaking news events, she said. Details of the test, such as when it will roll out and to how many of Facebook’s users, are scarce. Also unclear is how Facebook will try to ensure that Watch’s hard news section drives not only viewers but revenue for publishers.