By: Thomas Kraft
Montgazette Staff Writer
Citizen journalism has been around for centuries, but what
exactly is it?
According to the tech website, Mashable.com, it is “society’s
active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing
and disseminating news and information.” While that may
seem like a lengthy definition, when you see something on the
nightly news and “reported” it to your Twitter followers, you
become a citizen journalist.
One of the problems with citizen journalism is that it is
rarely unbiased and objective. That is, unless a neutral third
party, such as a drone, is used to capture the story.
Drones, small, unmanned, remotely-controlled flying
vehicles, were made famous by news outlets when a “hobbyist”
landed one on the White House lawn in January and again in May
2015. These events lead to a national uproar about their usage.
Prior to this, however, drones were primarily used by hobbyists
and filmmakers to get scenic videos for commercial use.
Drone streaming video technology would give a new tool
to the citizen journalists that at one time only professional TV
journalists could have.
For example, the Phantom 3, produced by aerial
technology company DJI has the ability to stream live footage
from the drone via the pilot’s smartphone. Other companies,
like UK-based ExtremeFliers, will be launching similarlyequipped
drones by the end of 2016.
As Eric Cheng, DJI’s director of photography, said, “A
protest, an accident, a disaster… Someone’s going to be there
streaming from it.”
The biggest problem to overcome is the regulation of the
Federal Aviation Administration. After the aforementioned
White House dilemmas in January and May, the FAA has been
trying to remedy mistakes such as these from happening again.
Starting this November, the FAA will require every drone
hobbyist to register their drone.
Even with FAA regulations, videos from adept drone
enthusiasts and citizen journalists capturing raw news footage,
drones may just signal a new wave of unbiased, objective
journalism.
The Montgazette 