Ethics considerations in digital journalism: Tiny cameras & social analytics

Ethics considerations in digital journalism: Tiny

cameras & social analytics

Steve Outing Media futurist, Digital-news innovator | [email protected]

http://mediadisruptus.com

mailto:[email protected]

http://mediadisruptus.com

http://vimeo.com/76031372

Cameras are getting smaller, high quality

Steve Outing (media futurist, digital-news innovator) • http://mediadisruptus.com • [email protected]

LA Times photojournalist uses GoPro for time-lapse at Oscars Red Carpet

Photojournalist Amanda Mustard attaches a GoPro on her DSLR — then combines video with her best still shots. (Covers Mideast protests.)

Ethical considerations:

• Live-streaming news event • GoPro is small; no indication you’re live-streaming • What if you live-stream someone getting killed,

etc.?

http://framework.latimes.com/2013/03/01/behind-the-lens-oscar-red-carpet-gopro-time-lapse-fail/


GoPro+drone: Go where no camera has gone before


Drone with GoPro: Only for hobby use currently in U.S.;

other countries less restrictive


• Safety first • Trained, certified pilot • Does newsworthiness ever

trump safety, laws/regulations, privacy considerations? (e.g., ban on drones over commercial agriculture facilities)

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jimwaterson/this-amazing-footage-shows-why-drone-journalism-is-about-to

Early code of ethics for drone journalism


http://www.dronejournalism.org/code-of-ethics/


• NEWSWORTHINESS. The investigation must be of sufficient journalistic importance to risk using a potentially harmful aerial vehicle. Do not use a drone if the information can be gathered by other, safer means.

• SAFETY. A drone operator must first be adequately trained in the operation of his or her equipment. The equipment itself must be in a condition suitable for safe and controlled flight. Additionally, the drone must not be flown in weather conditions that exceed the limits of the drone’s ability to operate safely, and it must be flown in a manner that ensures the safety of the public.

• SANCTITY OF LAW AND PUBLIC SPACES. A drone operator must abide by the regulations that apply to the airspace where the drone is operated whenever possible. An exception to this is provided in instances where journalists are unfairly blocked from using drones to provide critical information in accordance with their duties as members of the fourth estate. The drone must be operated in a manner which is least disruptive to the general population in a public setting.

• PRIVACY. The drone must be operated in a fashion that does not needlessly compromise the privacy of non-public figures. If at all possible, record only images of activities in public spaces, and censor or redact images of private individuals in private spaces that occur beyond the scope of the investigation.

• TRADITIONAL ETHICS. As outlined by professional codes of conduct for journalists.

Early code of ethics for drone journalism



Really small, ‘invisible’ cameras used for news


Narrative lifeblogging clip camera: Takes still photo

every 30 seconds; store to smartphone.

5 megapixel photos. $279


• People won’t realize that you’re taking photos • Narrative small enough to be made “invisible” • How unobtrusive is TOO unobtrusive? • Invasion of privacy? Or acceptable?

Autographer lifeblogging clip camera: Has sensors to guess when is best time to take

a photo. GPS; temperature; accelerometer; color/light detection. 5 megapixel photos.

$399

Looxcie VIDEO wearable: Tiny. Capable of live-streaming.

Clips to clothing. Still photos, too. 30-second buffer save.

$99 Also, HD over-ear version $199


http://www.autographer.com/passion/photography

Even more intrusive? Smart glasses



• Great journalistic tool, but too intrusive? • When is it necessary to alert people you are recording

images or audio? • Live-streaming code of conduct? • When facial recognition is a capability of smart glasses?

Google Glass Photos, video, microphone, speaker, augmented

reality display, live-streaming possible. Initial price: $?????

Pivothead Sport Smartglasses Photos, video, microphone. Face-tracking. Time stamp.

Burst-mode photo. Time-lapse capable. $279

http://pivothead.com/products/eyewear/durango/smoke

Soon: Appearance like regular eyeglasses


Meta Pro Smart Glasses Camera, microphone, speaker,

augmented-reality display. Available summer 2014

Initial price: $3,000

New topic: Ability to identify eyewitnesses with social-media data analysis technology


Dataminr, a data vendor for Twitter, recently announced a service for newsrooms that will identify clusters of tweets

on a single topic that identify a breaking news event. !

CNN has been the guinea pig, and Dataminr will start licensing the service to any newsroom sometime soon.

!A journalist using this would be able to identify people who

are witnesses, and the tool has features to dive deeper and learn about the eyewitnesses, find their posts

and photos on other social networks, etc.

Example of Dataminr user dashboard


New Twitter Tool Finds Hot Topics Before They Trend

http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/29/dataminr-for-news/


Dataminr News is a handy tool. Any concerns?


• Creepy or OK? Journalist contacts you out of the blue at news scene?

• Creepy or OK? Journalist knows quite a bit about you already.

• Acceptable? Publishing photos from eyewitnesses at the scene. … I.e., grabbing off Twitter, Instagram, etc. (If you can’t reach them.)

• Rules/guidelines for getting permission to publish tweets, photos, video from at-the-scene eyewitnesses?

• Should eyewitnesses used in this way be paid?

• Verification rules before publishing eyewitness content purportedly from the scene? (e.g., GPS spoofing could fool you.)

Find this presentation on the web


http://www.slideshare.net/steveouting1/

http://www.slideshare.net/steveouting1/

Education

Ethics considerations in digital journalism: Tiny cameras & social analytics