The Use of Technology in Newsgathering

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume VI, Issue I, January 2022 | ISSN 2454–6186

The Use of Technology in Newsgathering

Ben Odeba¹, Ruth Barnabas² & Misal Bello Daburi^3
1Directorate of Academic Planning, Bingham University, Karu, Nigeria
²Office of the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Bingham University, Karu, Nigeria
³Directorate of Public Affairs, Bingham University, Karu, Nigeria

Abstract
Aerial Newsgathering or Drone Journalism is the use of drones for newsgathering and reporting with the application of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) or Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) in covering conflict, civil unrest and disaster. Anchored on the Diffusion of Innovation Theory, this paper, “The Use of Technology in Newsgathering” analytically reviewed the concept of aerial newsgathering or drone journalism, otherwise called UAVs. The review shows that ‘drone’ which was originally created for military operations has now been adopted for civilian use such as journalism especially in potentially hostile environments in order to minimize or prevent loss of human journalists on the line of duty and other dangers of using human journalists in dangerous settings. The review further indicates that ‘Drone Journalism’ is one of the recent technologies adopted in journalism practice which helps to reduce or minimize the killing of human journalists who are exposed to dangers in their line of duty especially during wars and other potentially risky incidences of man-made and natural disasters such as floods, wild fires, storms, earthquakes, and civil unrest. The review also shows that while ‘drone technology’ is an amazing innovation in both military and media organizations, journalism practitioners should be mindful of operational guidelines such as ethics, sovereignty issues, privacy and safety.

Keywords: Aerial Newsgathering, Contemporary Era, News Reporting

Introduction
Advancement in digital technology is constantly changing the way people do things all over the world; leaving the users with the challenges of how to cope with the changes. In media practice, the practitioners are not only faced with the changes in technology but they are also confronted with both the natural and man-made disasters which have claimed the lives of many journalists on the line of duty. Not only that, human newsgatherers and reporters in the quest for not just newsworthy stories but also factual and objective reportage are confronted with digital development in the media with the challenges each development brings in the course of newsgathering and reporting in the 21st century. And like the proverbial “eneke, the bird”, in ‘Things Fall Apart’, a novel written by China Achebe says, “since hunters have learnt to shoot without missing, “eneke” has also learnt to fly without perching”. In the same vein, since the “ills” bedeviling newsgathering and reporting in the contemporary era have refused to abate, media practitioners have also learnt to adopt all available digital technologies for newsgathering and reporting in order to minimize the huge hazards journalists face every day in their primary responsibilities of objective and factual dissemination of information. For instance, on July 23, 2019, a corps member serving with Channels Television died of gun shots while covering Shite and Police clash in Abuja, Nigeria. This is just one among many cases of the death of journalists during crisis and or conflicts in Nigeria and other parts of the world.
Globally, newsgathering and reporting have witnessed an unprecedented evolution not only as a result of rapid development in digital technology, but also a result of hostile environments where journalists are required to carry out their daily tasks of newsgathering and reporting. One of the most recent developments in journalism is known as aerial newsgathering and reporting. This newsgathering technology is described in many ways; it is referred to as drone journalism, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), unmanned aerial systems (UASs) or newsgathering and so on. It is the use of aerial technology to gather and report news stories with minimum human control or involvement. The technology is suitable for newsgathering and reporting in hostile environments such as wars, floods, wild fires, storms, earthquakes and civil unrests. Some of the major advantages of or benefits of the use of aerial newsgathering technology or drone journalism include the safety of human journalists, accuracy and speed of operation (Corcoran, 2014).

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