A few days before New Year, Iraq's state television aired an official video of Saddam Hussein's execution. But in ended in the part where the noose was placed over his head and tightened around his neck. No audio was heard.
But thanks to the camera phone of one of those who witnessed Saddam's death by hanging, millions of people around the world saw the what exactly happened: from Saddam's refusal to wear the black hood, to the expression of fear on his face, and the chanting that followed his hanging.(see video of Saddam's hanging)
To say that camera phones are a powerful tool for journalism would be an understatement.
Here in the Philippines, even the biggest tv networks equip their reporters with camera phones so they can take video or pictures of events. Traditional news crews are sometimes prohibited access or they simply miss out on the event, that a reporter's cellphone becomes the next best thing.
For non-traditional journalists,or citizen journalists, it can even be as simple as being in the right place at the right time. Amateur video taken from the cellphone of the destruction brought by a typhoon or a crime scene before the police and the media arrive have all been used by the bigger media in their news.
But while instant video of world class breaking news beamed directly to the web has yet to occur, the road to get there has begun. The technology is here. And citizens in general are working on it.
Because journalism, as the reading suggests, is not just about having the right tools. It's also about discerning what makes for a great news story. It's about checking facts. And having contacts who can put everything in context.
Moblogging? It's a work in progress.
1 comment:
Hi Marieton,
I was also struck by the power of the images of Sadam's execution. It would not at all have been possible without technology, not to mention ordinary citizens' participation in and cognizance of what constitutes news.
However, the disturbing reports of young children from different parts of the world hanging themselves after the event -- apparently imitating what they'd seen of the execution -- should remind us that there are greater issues to be considered in the potentials of moblogging. The power of images coupled with the replicating behavior encouraged by broadcast media -- these are things not to be taken lightly.
On the other hand, several arguments can be made: the TV networks were responsible for airing the footage, the parents were responsible for not guiding their children, and so on. Certainly, questions of censorship could also come into the picture. But in the end, as you said, journalism entails discerning what makes a great news story. And I agree, moblogging, as with other forms of media that came before it, is a work in progress. We just have to keep at it till we get it right. :)
Chingbee
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