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Technology is Changing Journalism: Why News Media is Looking to You to Share Your Story

Posted March 16th, 2010 by Vince and filed in Selling your media

There has been a lot of talk about how journalism is changing. The recent announcement that ABC News is making cuts in their staffing has pointed out how new technology is changing how even the networks cover the news. There are now a lot of discussions in journalism about what are called VJ, or video journalists, where one person using lightweight gear with laptops can do much of the work that used to be assigned to a reporter, photographer, editor and live truck operator.

The website Lost Remote interprets this move toward one person doing the work that had been traditionally done by a team this way. “The new tools of our trade make it easier to shoot and edit, and we predict that new voices will be found – people who never before had a chance to prove their storytelling chops nationally.”

If you would like to be one of those who would like to cover news using some of these new tools, the website Mashable looked at what tools are available for anyone to use, that can help you do everything with your smart phone equipped with a camera. They include the voice recorder from Google Voice, a way to stream live video from your cell phone using a product like Ustream, a video editor like Reeldirector for use on your iPhone, some small hints on how to type fast notes on your smart phone (with some instructions from a 16 year old girl) and Wordpress, the fast and easy blog that many people are using to post their content.

This movement towards using your phone as an all purpose tool captured the attention of one reporter at the BBC who was asked this question:

“can u give me a crash course in citizen reporting? What tech is best and are there rules/tips?”

He offered up a list of tools for new journalists here, everything you need to become ready for the next big breaking story. He touched on the how the a phone with a camera is now becoming an instant transmitter of live video: “You can go live for free using mobile applications like Ustream, Bambuser or Qik – though I’m still waiting for the first real breaking-news story to arrive via one of these services.”

We can say wait no more, a number of television stations are now using live streaming from devices using software like Qik. This winter’s storms on the East Coast were the latest opportunity for TV stations and the public to work together to share live video and thousands of pictures taken while the storm was closing down airports and roads around the region. One example was WTTG which actively sought out viewers who had mobile phones with live streaming software installed. Check out MyFoxDC asking users to share their weather stories through “ViewerCams” and through “MyWeather.”

The team at fizwoz can see more and more newsrooms looking to partner with the public to cover big stories as they happen. For those incredible shots of breaking news, there is a market place that is developing where newsrooms will pay for the very best of those pictures. If you capture breaking news, we hope you’ll think of the fizwoz website as where you can share your great pictures.