This new app is a great addition to any iPad – and an excellent one considering the strength and depth of stories from this year alone. The ABC have delivered some top quality applications for iDevices so far, and this 50 Years app is of the same high quality the others have delivered. From the press release:

As part of Four Corners’ 50th anniversary celebrations, the ABC has launched a free Four Corners 50 Years app for iPad, commemorating five decades of the ABC’s flagship investigative news program, with a collection of groundbreaking stories and rich media content.

The new Four Corners 50 Years app features over seventy standout documentaries and an extensive archive of interviews and background material.

There are interviews with reporters, producers, researchers and crew; plus five unique video presentations that showcase the best programs from each decade. The material covers all the big social themes, as well as the game-changers – the stories that changed the course of history.

The Four Corners 50 Years custom-built iPad app also allows users to search the app via theme and decade, or reporter and producer. Users can tag their favourite programs and share through Twitter and email.

Four Corners’ Executive Producer Sue Spencer said: “This is a unique archive of Australia’s current affairs history. To encapsulate all this rich material into an app is obviously considerable, and with more than 70 programs and almost 50 interviews with past and present reporters and presenters, it really is exciting to be able to produce this extensive interactive experience.

“It really allows users to explore the history of Four Corners in a personal and engaging way, when they want. With the stunning timeline, that goes all the way back to the first Four Corners program, to recent news breaking reports from this year, it really is an extraordinary body of work. It is also a huge educational resource for those studying the Australian media and social history.”

The new Four Corners 50 Years app for iPad was designed and developed out of work undertaken for the 50 Years of Four Corners Multimedia Exhibition by ABC Innovation’s Creative Director Sam Doust, and co-produced with Four Corners Web Producer Ruth Fogarty, with assistance from Charlie Szasz. Digital creative agency, Design Royale’s Keigo Muto coded the application.

The Four Corners 50 Years app for iPad is available for free. Download here: http://abc.net.au/services/mobile/
The 50 years of Four Corners website was launched in August and can be viewed here http://abc.net.au/4corners/50years
(The ABC recommends your iPad is connected to a wi-fi network when both downloading the app and viewing video. Download is free from the iTunes App Store.)