Citizen's arrest

Broadcasters were this week accused of irresponsibly encouraging the public to put themselves in danger to get news pictures in the wake of the terror attacks on London. The Press Gazette.

"The rise of the "citizen journalist" culminated in exclusive video pictures of the surrender of Muktar Said Ibrahim and Ramzi Mohammed, taken by a member of the public, being sold to ITV News and the Daily Mail and used around the world.

In a letter to Press Gazette, the Chartered Institute of Journalists highlights ITV, CNN and the BBC as instigating a new trend in broadcasting that pushes the public to "go out and get" pictures of breaking news.

The CIoJ says: "The use in newspapers, and on television, of pictures by amateur photographers who have coincidentally been at the scene of a major news story in the past, has always been acceptable. However, attempts by television channels to actively encourage their viewers to go out and get news pictures and then transmit the results direct to them, are totally unacceptable and border on the irresponsible."

The CIoJ also says the public are being exploited for their news pictures and criticises CNN for "sheer effrontery" in expecting viewers to send it material without payment and stating on its website: "You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless CNN, its parent and affiliated companies, its and their licensees, successors and assigns, and each of its and their officers, agents and employees from all liabilities or losses, including, without limitation, reasonable attorney's fees."

But Nick Wrenn, managing editor of CNN International, said: "Like it or not, phone cameras have become an important means of recording breaking news, as the Boxing Day tsunami showed. Technology is driving big changes in journalism. You don't need a press pass to capture the news. With any new media we are learning as we go along and I'm sure the way mainstream news organisations work with this technology will develop further. I strongly dispute that news organisations are being irresponsible and it is worth noting that some of the pictures taken by members of the public come to us unsolicited."

London Tonight, ITV News' regional news for London, now has a database of viewers with picture phones. Editor Stuart Thomas, of London Tonight, said: "We have received some great footage from our viewers and it's really added to our coverage of certain stories, but London Tonight does not encourage people to ‘go out and get' pictures from the scene of breaking news stories. This would clearly be irresponsible. We have a database of viewers with picture phones and actively request pictures after an event."

The BBC said: "We strongly refute any suggestion that viewers are encouraged to go out and get news pictures. The public have, for some time now, been volunteering their material to the BBC, and we are quite clear on the responsibilities that come with this process."

emily | 7:40 AM | |
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