We are now entering a new era of journalism, and I don't use the term 'WE' lightly.'User Generated Content' (UGC) is enabling more information from direct sources of interest to be consumed than ever before.
Potentially gone are the days that an agency would send a journalist to cover a story and retrieve photographs, video and copy to be reported on a major network. Now, thanks to advances in personal portable technology and social utilities such as 'Youtube' and 'Facebook', everyday people who happen to be in the right place at the right time can capture the information and broadcast it to whoever wishes to view it.
One of my first and most vivid experiences of seeing UGC broadcast by a major network was the coverage of the 2000 Concorde disaster. After running over a piece of debris on the runway, Concorde's fuel tank was ruptured which sent hundreds of gallons of jet fuel straight into the afterburner during takeoff, as a result, Concorde could not gain hight or speed and subsequently crashed killing everyone on board. Obviously due to the fact that a plane taking off is nothing special nowadays, no-one save maybe an aircraft fanatic was watching the takeoff. The only captured footage of the accident was done so by two tourists driving near the airport who happened to be filming their journey.
As a result, the major broadcasters all used this footage to detail their stories. This raises certain questions, what does this men for journalists and camera crews? Is footage, photographs and print captured by the public suitable for broadcast morally and technically? And are broadcasters willing to sacrifice quality to bring as much information as possible to as many people as possible.
For details regarding standards that broadcasters must consider when using UGC, please view the BBC Editorial Guidelines.
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