All Articles On This Website Are Copyrighted And Not For Duplication
We do offer articles for reprint offsite at: 'VideoNewsCaster.com Article Locker'
We do offer articles for reprint offsite at: 'VideoNewsCaster.com Article Locker'
The role of the editor to insure sources are verified, facts are checked, and information is accurate is now being challenged by the citizen journalist armed with a computer and an internet connection.
Is this a bad thing? Some say yes, others say no. It would appear at first glance that unfettered journalism is a disaster waiting to happen. However, an entire industry has sprouted from this phenomena with Matt Drudge blazing the trail when he broke the Monica Lewinsky story.
So what about fact checking and verification of sources? When the written word is made available in a format that allows for easy copying, duplication and distribution around the world almost instantly, this is a very real concern. An unverified rumor or scandal can ruin a celebrity or a politician's career whether true or not.
A partial solution is at hand, however. Weblogs have now given rise to moblogs (or mobile weblogs) which exist because cameraphones and video cellphones provide the average consumer the means to capture newsworthy footage as it happens.
Serendipitous crossing of paths between Joe Public and known celebrities, politicians, or other persons of stature now provides an opportunity to capitalize on this growing technological trend. Being in the right place at the right time can bring rewards.
Usually, images and video do not lie. Yes, digital images can be manipulated, but technology exists to spot the fakes. Most mobloggers, however, are not trying to create fabricated images when real life is so readily available and so easily documented.
Now, mobile phone news video is being captured in real-time and then posted on websites for the world to see. Media outlets are hungry for late-breaking news video footage that is timely and would normally be impossible to get, except for this latest technology that puts the man on the street on every street corner.
Is this what most mobloggers are doing with their video cell phones? No, but the 3G cell phone technology so prevalent in Japan has not flourished to the same degree yet in the U.S. It is only a matter of time.
Meanwhile, when someone does happen to capture some breaking news with a video cellphone, the media can be alerted instantly and perform whatever fact checking or image verification is necessary before putting the footage on the air.
Become a citizen journalist now.