it's got be good that not all news and journalism comes from the mainstram media.

I agree to an extent but one of the critisms of citizen journalism is that the people doing it arent trained where as in theory trained journalists are unbiased and there is a legal frame work to make sure what they show is reliable. If the BBC were to make something up they'd be fined by offcom but theres nothing like that for citzen news.

When the steam pipe exploded near my work and everyone thought it was another terrorist attack half the people were trying to get close to take pictures of the plume of smoke and dirt and debris that was shooting into the air like some end of the world mushroom cloud and the other half were split into three groups (that I noticed): Those that were paralyzed with fear and crying, those that were trying to get those paralyzed with fear moving away from the explosion, and those who were just getting away as fast as they could.



Is it the internet culture that makes some people's first reaction to take photos to later put online rather than to preserve their life and help out their fellow man? Have people changed that much? I assume there were always gawkers at deaths and disasters and had there been camera phones during any previous wars, we'd have flickr communities of the death camps (any death camps, there are numerous ones throughout history) and video of the witch trials complete with cheering.



In the end, is it because of mans desire to be part of something bigger than themselves? A secret wish that they were part of the disaster, because then they would get attention?

but what about organisations like FOX? you can hardly say they are unbiased

Its extremely difficult to say if the technology has caused this change because ultimatly as you pointed out most people didnt have access to mass communication technology this is the first time its possible in human history.



Having said that there have always been people who have gone out to report something even if it puts their lives at risk, its something journalists have always done and spent along time being trained to do it.



For a while I was toying with the idea of becoming a war camera man, I wanted to capture images that would change the world and the only way to do it would of been to report on wars, but that meant putting myself in a situation where I could be shot, kidnapped and tourtured.



But that isnt the only problem theres moral issues, do you help your fellow man when their suffering (e.g been blown up) or do you film them?

Fox is the bastardised form of news and any journalist should be embrassed to work for them its well reported that at the start of each day they recieve notes from the top telling them what to report on.



But if you actually look at all the legal requirements channels face there is alot of protection.



The BBC got into major trouble over what the media reffers to as thr queensgate scandal where an advertisement for a program about the queen suggested that she had stormed out of a photoshoot angry when infact it was too unrelated shots edited together.



The BBC had to send its entire staff on an honnest course and made each and every indie company it used sign an honnesty contract, they held debates to talk over the issue and had to pay a fine.



The vast majority of news channels are forced to be reliable (well at least in the UK, I cant comment outside because I havent done the research).

well the morally corrupt person would probably film them...



but that is the beauty of youtube (et al.), people are looking for opportunities to film anything, so one day someone can come up to them and say "dude have you seen the ____ video" and they will say "i effing made that video, man!" and they will be idolized like the "leave britney alone" guy.





p.s. I AM THE NUMA NUMA GUY!!!!

stubby - per your 'do you help your fellow man or film them' - funny, just had that convo the other day regarding nature documentaries. The one that I will never forget involved a 'rare' animal (some feline species in the wild) moving her cubs to a new den. And the filmmakers were talking about how she didn't realize it held rattle snakes. So each time she brought them over, they were bitten. Finally, the feline realized it and starting trying to move them away, and she was attacked by the snakes, and it filmed her tumbling and stumbling and trying to save her cubs as she slowly died.



the whole time the camera crew knew the snakes were there.



I was brought up beleiving we were stewards to the earth and its inhabitants, so can't comprehend people standing idley by and, worse, filming and commenting as another creature is in pain or dying when you have the ability to help.



I konw there is a professional distance one has to keep in journalism, or, should keep at any rate. I don't know how these correspondant's do it.

Edean, i really dont think its so black and white that someone is morally corrupt because they choose to film, its an extremely grey area, what if your in an enviroment where the rest of the world arent aware of the suffering people are expereincing on a large scale, by showing the world the images of these atrocities I'd hope to make the world aware about it (and hopefully something could be done).



Its also a case of where do you take the person? your in a war zone you can always take people to a hospital and even then they might not be able to help.



and of course you cant save everyone, that one person could be one of hundreds of people you see everyday.

Unfortunatly its a case of having to rationalise it, one person died but it could be the image that sparks the worlds anger and save hundreds of thousands or even millions.



Journalists can cope with it because they concentrate on their job, I have to get the camera's lighting set up in a certain way, are the sound levels good is the journalist going to be audiable.



You concretrate on the little details so you dont see the horrors your filming, oh and you concentrate on self preservation.



The problem is that its only a short term solution, journalists often talk about feeling intense guilt when their at home and safe.