{"id":1007,"date":"2012-09-22T14:53:48","date_gmt":"2012-09-22T21:53:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/journalists-org-develop.go-vip.co\/newsroom\/?p=1007"},"modified":"2021-06-22T18:44:12","modified_gmt":"2021-06-22T22:44:12","slug":"drones-journalists-with-flying-robots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journalists-org-develop.go-vip.co\/newsroom\/2012\/09\/22\/drones-journalists-with-flying-robots\/","title":{"rendered":"Drones: Journalists With Flying Robots"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ben Kreimer of the Drone Journalism Lab demonstrates a drone.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Drones. The word brings to mind roving military machines that rain down hellfire. (Or it brings to mind their online parodies<\/a>.) However, they have potential for civilian use, especially in journalism.<\/p>\n

At the ONA conference Friday, representatives from\u00a0University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Drone Journalism Lab<\/a> were on hand to discuss unmanned aerial vehicles and show off the technology. Matt Waite<\/a>, a professor at the university and founder of the lab, spoke to the crowd over Google Hangout from Berlin, where he was presenting on drones at scoopcamp 2012. In person to fly the drone was Ben Kreimer<\/a>, one of three students working with Waite in the lab.<\/p>\n

Kreimer said drones could be useful to cover\u00a0natural disasters such as the May 2011 tornado in Joplin, Mo. He compared ground shots of the devastation with wide overhead shots taken by drones.<\/p>\n

\u201cPerspective is the important aspect here with drones and journalism,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can get an entirely different look at an event.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kreimer said drones also could be useful in covering protests or rallies, allowing journalists to get large crowd shots where there might be limited mobility.<\/p>\n

Journalists are split on whether they like drone technology, Waite said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody I talk to about this has two reactions,\u201d Waite said. \u201cOne of them is, ‘You’re talking about flying robots with cameras. This couldn’t be any cooler. I want in on this now.’ The other kind of reaction is, ‘Stop the world, I want to get off. I don’t want this technology anywhere near me.’\u201d<\/p>\n

However, he said, both camps overlook some important arguments about drones. Supporters miss that drones have an unsettling, invasive nature, and critics miss what they can do for journalism.<\/p>\n

Aerial images are nothing new to journalism, but the team pointed out that helicopters are expensive, and flying them can cost thousands of dollars each time. High-end drones cost a few thousand dollars, and many are available for far less. And there is no need to hire a pilot.<\/p>\n

Mark Stephens, a lawyer specializing in media law and human rights, said drones offer access where journalists might otherwise be blocked, be it by fires or police.<\/p>\n

“What you want to be able to do is get someone in there. If you’re below 400 feet, below the level they can go in, and they can’t see you anyway, you’re fine,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A drone is simply a remote-controlled flying machine. Use can be as simple as attaching a smartphone to the underside and shooting. Or cameras can be used to create GPS maps. Infrared cameras can also be used. But the possibilities aren’t just limited to that technology.<\/p>\n

“I can see a more distant future where drones are used to place sensors where we can’t go, like putting radiation senors around a nuclear power plant that has just melted down,\u201d Waite said. \u201cI think sensor-based data is the really powerful future of drones for journalism, but the uses are much harder to envision.\u201d<\/p>\n