missouri drone journalism program: convergence capstone group robert partyka, jaime cooke, zach...
TRANSCRIPT
DRONES IN JOURNALISMMissouri Drone Journalism
Program: Convergence Capstone Group
Robert Partyka, Jaime Cooke, Zach Garcia
What are drones?
Credit: Charles McCain, Creative Commons
-Drones are Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs, or “bots” as the class has come to call them)
-This technology is most popularly known for militaristic use
-Under this identity, UAVs conduct surveillance and are able to carry out long-distance aerial attacks without the added risk of placing soldiers in combat
-Domestic use of UAVs has been a controversial topic, due in large part to the reputation that militaristic use has given the technology
- especially as it relates to surveillance
TIME Magazine
The Program’s Drones
Credit: Sally French, Missouri Drone Journalism Program
-These are the types of drones the program has been working with
-The drones were assembled locally, thanks to a collaboration with the MU Division of Information and Prof. Matthew Dickinson
-Cheap to assemble when made from kit
-Most of the program’s work was produced on two quadcopters, while footage from one hexacopter was used in later stages of the semester
The Convergence Team
-We spent the semester creating an online presence for the program in the
form of a blog
-Some of the events we witnessed (and covered for the blog) along the course of the semester:
-A controlled prairie burn-An NBC Nightly News visit-Class sessions with Pakistani and Korean journalists-A Missouri House of Representatives hearing regarding a
UAV bill-Flight reporting at the Missouri/Mississippi Rivers
confluence and Cahokia Mounds in the greater St. Louis area -A group of students completely unfamiliar with flying
UAVs becoming skillful operators of the technology
The Conflict-The widely negative public perspectiveof UAV technology has led to 28 stateseither passing or currently consideringbills that limit or prohibit use-Currently, no direct legislation fromFederal Aviation Administration
-In general: lower than 400 feet and away from populated or privately-owned areas-Internationally, laws vary greatly
-Missouri: “Preserving Freedom fromUnwanted Surveillance Act”
- Passed by House (House Bill No. 46)
- Currently under Senate review
Missouri House Rep. Casey Guernsey was the driving force behind House Bill No. 46
Photo by Jaime Cooke
-How it all affected us:-We needed to stay current on the fast-moving laws, as a precursor for what
might happen in Mo.-We had to exercise caution in blog production, because we were constantly
being monitored…
Research
Researching the Nebraska program: similarities and differences
Drone laws in the US vs. other countries The perception of drones in the media Missouri drone laws
Media Coverage
-Media coverage played a large role in the Missouri Drone Journalism Program education- First press was from KCTV5, a Kansas City
based CBS affiliate.- First print coverage was from Fast Company
- Didn’t conduct interviews, simply quoted our blog
- Opened the door for coverage from other sources
- Students learned from the way the media covered us
Media Coverage
-NBC Nightly News was our first National TV coverage- Talked more about drone use in journalism
-ABCnews.com and VICE featured Jaime’s video
-KBIA published the three stories- Some content was also shared by partner
publication Harvest Public Media
Media Coverage
-Most media coverage was non-confrontational- Fears of getting “slammed” in press
coverage
-Most press organizations “got it”- Reported fairly and didn’t present the
program in a negative light - News outlets interested in using the
technology themselves someday
Blogging/Website
-Maintaining and running a website was key to the program’s success.- Introduced viewers to the program and its key
players, a forum for people to turn to
-”Contact Us” page was added after misattribution in the media
-Transparency was also an aim of the website
Blogging/Website
-Statistics and Viewership - As of yesterday, the site had around 4,500
views- Most of this traffic from search engines- 50% U.S. based traffic
- Most popular pages are about the drones themselves, not content
- Video on Cade Cleavelin has over 600 views
Video on the Program
• Integrating ourselves with the class
• Filming class activities, Jeff City hearing, outings, interviews, grant video
• Shooting during class, class visitors
• Conducting “debriefing” interviews
• Assisting class with multimedia editing, content gathering
• Learning as we go
• Filming during media coverage, NBC
Video 1
https://vimeo.com/61748786 First video: Cade Cleavelin Trial video, no set pre-production plan Picked up by other media outlets (yikes!) Interviewed Cade after the fact Remained a 3rd party during shooting Documentary style Drone footage not so great
Video 2: Better
https://vimeo.com/63522238 In field: assisted class, gave footage to class Similar style to Cade video, but overall
better Focus more on what student learned Interviewed Brendan after the fact Improved: had a focus beforehand, fleshed
out story as I was in the field, prepared Drone footage was better quality
Other Video Work
Video used for pulling still images: Jeff City, Big Muddy Wildlife Refuge, Eagle Bluffs
Filmed NBC crew visit: what they think of drones in journalism
Filmed classroom visits: Pakistani Journalists
Interviewed them, filmed during class
Currently putting together a final video to give to the grant provider –straight interviews with Bill and Scott
Video Teaching Points
Media visits: watching other crews cover the class the way we did each day
Filming during Jeff City hearing- standing my ground
In the field: be prepared, take risks, help each other
Interviewing journalists: tweek questions, ask them to tell a story
Stay one step ahead of class