hardware requirements..

I am looking to pick up a pocket camera such as a Panasonic gf3 or an Olympus e-pl3 to shoot editorial styled video clips (e.g. car accident, house fire). Both camera can do 1080 videos. Would the video quality be good enough for submission here?

Probably here yes. Many agencies probably would not accept them. They are a step above the cheaper point and shoot cameras. Remember that just because a camera can shoot 1080 does not mean the true quality is there. Just like the advertisement about pixel count is almost meaningless. A low quality sensor can still do 12 mp but a much higher quality senor may do 8 mp. There are P&S and cell phone videos for sale. I would tend to side on editorial type shots like you described when your higher quality camera isn't with you. Look at the reviews of these cameras on dpreview.com.

Good luck.

On the gf3 review, it says that the camera can produce video with the following spec. You mention it may not be good enough for other agencies - I assume they would require a higher Mbps? If so what is the minimum Mbps that most agencies would accept?

AVCHD 1920 x 1080, (60i*, 17 Mbps)

@wsistudio - This info may be of some use to you... http://usjvc.com/blog/?p=263

There are others using the GF3 as a start-up camera in P5 although I would recommend a Canon T2i or T3i.

Would a Panasonic GH1 (hacked) be a better option for doing stock videos? I read a few articles about how its video quality is better than those produced from a 5d2.

The difference in quality of footage from a p&s camera is sensor size pixel size and most importantly the compression is often too aggressive and the software codec not being as good as it could be. Then throw in excessive heat and that is why not all HD footage is the same.

Yes the Panasonic GH series are far better and still small.