Focus on risks of citizen paparazzi

Another opinion piece on citizen reporters, this time by Judy Vickers for the The Scotsman. Much of what is written has been covered before before, such as the police and media appealing to the public for their pictures of the London blasts and how amateur photos have made headline news.

But more interesting is Vicker'a take on the emerging trends - and the dangers - of "citizen paparazzi", which were perfectly illustrated by the Air France accident in Canada on August 2.

"As the terrified passengers ran for their lives from the flames that were engulfing their Air France jet, one found time to take some snaps on his palm-sized digital camera. This was Eddie Ho, who had taken four pictures with a Canon Powershot S200, the memory card of which survived the accident.

He mentioned the pictures - and a bidding war between the Toronto Star and Splash, an international news and picture agency, broke out.

The Star's reporter, Jim Rankin, later recounted that Splash offered US$1000 (£550), so he upped his bid to Canadian $1500 (£700).

While it's rare for anyone to pay such sums for a picture, could it give some a motive for putting themselves or others in danger in an emergency in a bid to get a better, more sellable image.

Air safety experts have already questioned whether Ho delayed his evacuation by stopping to take snaps. Earlier, Ho had refused to jump from one emergency exit after being asked to do so by a flight attendant. Ho says this was because there was no chute and he was worried about making the three-metre jump, but it raises the spectre of survivors making demands not just on how they are rescued but whether it gives them a clear shot on their camera.

We all gain by seeing the true picture. But we must be careful that that truth doesn't come at too high a price.

Picture from USA Today.

emily | 7:47 AM | Citizens as Camera Phone Reporters |
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