Monday, April 16, 2007

ABC 15 - "In Their Eyes"

If you happened to catch the ABC 15 news at 10 tonight, they had a special segment dedicated to how "new" media sources helped to break the Virginia Tech shooting story. As expected, they identified the cellphone video we saw in class as one such source. They also said various pictures taken by students on campus and in lockdown are being used to tell the Va. Tech story from another angle. I just thought it interesting that ABC 15 felt it significant enough to devote the time to talk specifically about how cellphones changed the coverage of this story. They stressed that this wasn't the first or last time breaking news will be delivered via a cellphone. But they did stress it was the first time a cellphone had captured video of the situation as it unfolded--long before the professional journalists arrived. Other pictures showed how students inside classrooms were reacting and copying with the situation, a story very different from the professional photos taken as students and the dead/wounded were taken out of the classroom.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

But they did stress it was the first time a cellphone had captured video of the situation as it unfolded--long before the professional journalists arrived.

Not true at all! Citizens used cell phones to cover London's train bombings, and the BBC used such footage on air to tell the story.

e.thompson said...

I think their contention was for news within the U.S. although that isn't what they actually said. For news in the U.S. their point is certainly more true--especially in regard not just to the local media outlets but also to many of the national media outlets.