Ethics for Newsdronies? What New Rules Should We Establish?

Los Angeles, CA—Before I share my thoughts I want you to see what a seemingly thoughtful journalist, Matt Waite has to say about the use of drones for Electronic News Gathering or ENG.  It’s important that you first watch his video presentation. My response is below the video.

Okay, Waite made a really melodramatic example of anecdote from his reporting past to make a point.  It was a really unfair and simplistic overstatement of a highly unusual situation he once encountered. 

Waite’s dramatic example is one we all can resolve by simply keeping enough distance between the drone and the grieving woman that Waite described. Only the most soulless bastard would dare to bring a buzzing drone into that poor woman’s face! 

Additionally, Waite unleashed his little drone inside the theater where he’s speaking and the natural acoustics there exaggerated the multi-rotor drone’s noise substantially.   

At 40 or 50 feet outdoors that noise is barely noticeable.  Animals will hear it much better than humans.  Actually is it substantially quieter that any typical news helicopter.  We need to first consider the current ethics of a news helicopter ENG crew for comparison.   

Helicopters make much more noise and everyone knows they are probably using very expensive high definition telephoto cameras because they are!

The little drones are much less intrusive or noisy than helicopters unless and until you begin to invade someone’s personal space. Frankly doing that would interfere with obtaining video that you’re there to capture. 

I must of course, beg the question, would invading the personal space of a rapist, murder or armed robber with a drone causing the termination of a horrific act be somehow unethical?

It may not be the job of journalists to interfere with crime but we must remember that we all have a much higher duty when human life is at stake.   Or is it somehow more virtuous or ethical to give our content viewers a voyeuristic view of a horrible crime we may have easily thwarted?

News directors and journalism professors will be struggling these drone issues just like they did when the first helicopters were utilized for ENG decades ago.

The job of the ENG Newsdronies will be to get the images.  Most of the important “ethical” decisions will be made inside TV control rooms and editing bays.  

Live shots are different and everyone involved in newsgathering and broadcasting must consider the safety of hostages and cops.  A ten-second delay solves many problems inherent or pulling out for a wider shot may be what’s called for.  Simple common sense must be applied.

Actually drone propeller noise can be greatly reduced by using special, balanced carbon fiber propellers instead of the plastic ones that come with most mini-drones.

How close to the news-making event is too close for an ENG drone?  Obviously bringing a drone within 20 feet of people will change their behavior.  If someone were being viciously attacked would that drone distraction slow or stop the crime?  Could it also give a victim a chance to flee and survive? Is that somehow a bad thing?

I can’t help but think about the TV news helicopter video shot during the Rodney King Riot in L.A.   That image gathering provided a solid identification of the person trying to kill truck driver Reginald Denny in that shockingly savage attack.  As a result of the images gathered the offender was quickly captured by police and removed from our streets.  

Those people involved in news reporting really don’t need new drone ethics.  They simply need to apply the old ones to the current technology. 

The drones belong in ENG more than the helicopters we’ve grown accustomed to seeing at newsworthy events.   Technology now has provided a gift that will give us better news video at a fraction of the cost or danger of utilizing conventional helicopters.

Will Phoenix TV News Organizations be Ready for the UAS Drone Reporters?

Phoenix, AZ—It appears that KTVK-TV has at least for now ended their decades long romance with expensive helicopters.  Pilot/Reporter Bruce “Chopperguy” Hafner’s current leasing contract ran out and has not been renewed.   It appears this will significantly change the way news will be covered in this medium TV market.

For the last nearly two decades TV news has hemorrhaged viewers everywhere and keeping a helicopter on standby with a pilot/reporter is more difficult than ever considering that is any news department’s single largest expense. 

TV news has had to adjust to lost revenue by replacing some news crews with multi-media journalists that write, shoot and edit reports that once involved as many as four or five people.  They’ve made drastic cuts and quality of the news product delivered has sadly declined.  The once glamorous and high paying careers of reporters and anchors are on the ropes.

Replacing anchors with a director queuing up news packages where reporters introduce themselves and stories is an alternative.  However things go wrong with live shots and this can become a visual disaster without a glib anchor moving the audience on to the next story.

Reporting news this way can be done but most often is at the expense of getting the whole story.  You can also argue that the video quality is less pleasing without a top-notch video camera operator. 

It’s very challenging for a multi-media journalist to investigate or even minimally vet the material and people getting coverage or face-time in a news event.  I’m sure that government agencies especially those not performing well with taxpayer money are breathing easier these days. 

The question I have is, what’s in the future?  I’m not sure anyone really knows but for now TV news must roll forward with the resources they have.  Without the cost of a helicopter resources can be reallocated and perhaps a few jobs saved. 

The needed skills of a TV reporter have now changed.   With the advent of inexpensive cameras, video equipment and laptop video editing reporters must know a lot more than simple reporting. 

The newest job is still somewhat in Limbo waiting for possible Federal Aviation Administration regulations.  That should be happening within a few months and that gives news organizations time to find and properly integrate this new breed of reporter. This technology also creates yet another new discipline to learn for TV reporters, Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) or Drone piloting. 

Are the UAS or drone pilot/reporters going to be able to fill the void left by guys like Phoenix pilot/reporter pioneers Jerry Foster and Bruce Hafner?  Perhaps not in every situation like for example high-speed car chases that most often involves many miles of travel.  Hafner and Foster always had the advantage of solid real time communications with police and aircraft control towers.   

Most situations involving aerial reporting contain static shots of accidents, crime scenes and fires.  The UAS drones can easily handle that kind of duty. 

The UAS has other advantages like safer operation in risky weather and functioning at much lower altitudes.  Any TV station can own several of these devices and have them strategically located throughout their coverage area for quick deployment.   That could actually beat the time a helicopter has to travel from hanger to news story even at 120 MPH. 

A UAS can actually broadcast live provided you have additional hardware and a live-truck with operator nearby for that purpose.   However it’s really simple to gather video for news packages in the normal course of events.  If done properly a TV news department can actually offer much more aerial B-Roll style video that ever before. 

As for acquiring the UAS piloting skills they are not nearly as simple as I was led to believe.  Because you’re flying at a much lower altitude you have many more obstacles like power lines, cell-phone towers, buildings and trees to avoid.  As you are trying to avoid these things sudden gusts of wind can add significant challenges.  I’ve even had agitated seagulls attack my drone and thankfully I was able to out maneuver them! 

These UAS all rely on GPS satellite navigation and that keeps them within control range of nearly one mile.  In an emergency simply turning off the transmitter will cause a UAS to return and land in the same place where it took off. 

You must practice emergency landings. Yes. I’ve had mishaps related to pilot error complete with broken propellers but no injuries or other property damage was involved.   Those mishaps are just a part of the on the job training.   I can say that each day my own piloting skills are getting better.  I’m hooked on the two drones I own. 

It does take both skill and hours of practice to become proficient with these amazing drones.   Any journalism student or practitioner should learn this new discipline.  The inherent safety of the UAS and reduced cost to deploy them insures we will be seeing them used by virtually every news organization that uses video.

I think it would be a lot of fun to be the first UAS/drone TV reporter in Phoenix.   You can count on seeing much more aerial video simply because they can do it so inexpensively. 

I can almost see the TV promotions department’s Sweeps ad campaign claiming to have the best drone video reporting ever!

The UAS drones can help TV news during the period while the industry reinvents itself for the next generation.  Undoubtedly the over the airwave broadcasts will soon end as all news is distributed via the Internet. 

Here is some unedited video I shot over a friend's home near Chicago a few weeks ago.  Instead of music you'd have the reporter's voice over.

Excellent Reporting by My Friends at KTVK-TV in Phoenix

Tucson, AZ—Today’s horrific shooting in Tucson that maimed or killed so many people needed to be reported. It was the weekend when most people in the news business are home with their families. The weekends are usually slow for news stories and a major story is a challenge to cover for the much smaller weekend TV news crews.

All aspects of this story needed the best work the reporters, producers, photographers and assignment desk people could provide. KTVK-TV came through meeting their responsibility to quickly provide all of the relevant information to their viewers.

KTVK-TV put their best on display today and I know there will be an Emmy Award or few in the future of these professionals. Sit back and watch some great reporting.

It’s Time For Some Entertainment On Crimefile!

I’ve been a fan of Crystal Gayle for 30 years. I first saw her in person at a front table in Dale Niedermaier’s, Park West Theater in Chicago in early October of 1979. (Thanks Dale!)

She was as good as it could get for me. Then one Saturday morning I met this great lady in the Phoenix, Arizona, KTVK-TV newsroom in early 1998. I spent about 20 minutes chatting with her trying to keep my composure. I’m sure this old investigator came off sounding like a nervous Porky Pig. I told her my very favorite song she ever sang was Someday Soon.

When Crysral left I held the car door for her and her sister, Peggy. I watched her as she took her really long hair and carefully wrapped it around her hand so it would not get caught on anything as she got in the car.

The songbird also gave me two tickets to see her at the ASU Sundome in Sun City. The second song in her show that night was Someday Soon. She rocked. I saw her afterwards and got to thank her and got a hug. What a gal!

Here is a clip of her from 1979 singing Someday Soon.!