Death, taxes and technological advancement- the three guarantees of life. The journalism industry has become one of the biggest movers and shakers when it comes to new technology. Many people believed that digital technology would be the death of journalism all together, however it has allowed for the reinvention of the medium, and continues to permit journalists to create new, never before seen content every day.
Photo and video journalism are not new modes of storytelling, however new technology has allowed journalists to get closer than ever to the action. Drones are one of the biggest new forms of videography that have revolutionised the way we report on news. A drone is a flying device that can take photos and videos from a bird’s eye view that is remote control operated, meaning it can capture footage that a human operated camera couldn’t.
One of the main aims of journalism is to inform the people of information that they would have been without if it weren’t for media practitioners reporting on the events. Drones have extended the ability for journalists to get even closer to stories that otherwise would have been untold without this technology.
A great example of the use of this technology was during the Rip Curl Pro Surfing competition in October 2016. Using the drones allows sport journalists to report on the competition like never before.
Another example is using the drones to cover protests and other large-scale events, that prior would have only been captured using an expensive and inefficient news helicopter. An example here is the BBC’s coverage of protests in Thailand back in 2013.
Drones are a new efficient use of technology that allows journalists to tell their stories like never before. It can only be assumed that with time, these devices will only get better and more advanced, and therefore their storytelling abilities will too.
