The Future of Journalism is Drones
- Mar 1, 2014
- 2 min read
It’s unfortunate that when most people think of drones they think of the war machines such as those deployed over Pakistan but drones are being used for a lot of good thing, especially in journalism. For reporters they are not just neat gadgets but they offer unique access and a fresh perspective on news events. The advantages of drones are obvious. They can go where it is too dangerous or impossible for people to go. Drones are relatively inexpensive and are easy to use, especially for those who’ve grown up on video games.
In one of the first programs of its kind in Canada, my former school, Langara has just announced they will start training their journalism students with drones. It wasn’t easy for the school which had to get aviation insurance and make sure they complied with aviation law. It kind of makes me wish I could go back to school. When I was there I never imagined students would be flying drones. Heck, we didn’t even use Facebook or Twitter and I swear I’m not that old.
In another example, two fellow filmmakers are using drones to not only raise the issue about land mines in Cambodia but are hoping that drones can also be used to destroy many of them as well. They visited Cambodia recently, a country where 20 % of the rural villages are still infested with mines, and interviewed the people who were effected by war and the land mines. Cambodia has over 40,000 amputees, one of the highest rates in any country. With heightened awareness, my friends will hopefully be able to raise money to help get rid of a disastrous problem, effecting a nation. To learn more about their initiative, go to botswithoutboarders.org.
Drones are especially being used in South America. For example, in El Salvador, one newspaper used drones to cover the presidential elections and in Brazil drones have been used to cover two of the protests and there is no doubt they will become widely used.
Of course, there are a lot of issues to consider before drones become mainstream.Many people are concerned about civil liberties, and privacy issues. I can only imagine what the Paparazzi will use them for. In one recent event, police grounded one journalist’s drones after he flew them over a car crash. The police question the journalist and then called the television station where the journalist worked. The journalist was suspended and decided to sue the police force for damages.
Two American universities started drone programs but the Federal Aviation Administration shut them down, claiming safety issues. The universities have since applied for a certificate that would allow them to restart their programs.
There is no doubt that drones are the future in not only journalism but in many other areas of our life and in the end progress can be delayed but it cannot be denied. We must deal with the Big Brother issues as they come up but journalists will find a way to use drones, hopefully it will provide better coverage and increased understanding about events that occur around the world.Please check out my latest novel, Shame the Devil on sale at Amazon here
by Joel Mark Harris
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