Drone journalism is here to stay!
PHOTO: RISTO AALTO
Camera drones are already common in journalism, and the prediction of ViSmedia researcher Turo Uskali is that within five years, all news photographers will be using camera drones.
- Many newsrooms use camera drones (or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) on a daily basis already. In fact, camera drones are so common that aerial journalism is defined as a sub-genre of visual journalism, says Turo Uskali. He is part of the ViSmedia-team, and senior journalism scholar at University of Jyväskylä. He estimates that about 20 news photographers are using camera drones in the Finnish news media, and he expects this number to increase drastically the next few years.
“- We have been thrilled to use the drones. The threshold to apply them is rather low. However, we have to be careful not to use them too often, and lose their effectiveness. ”
News photographer Mika Ranta from the Helsingin Sanomat estimates that they use drone material in five to ten stories monthly. Currently, the use of drone material is a bit random, but with a slight increase the last year. Martti Lyyra, head of visuals at the Finnish Broadcasting Company, also say that they have increased the use of drones during the last couple of years, and that they now use drones several times every week. In the newspaper Keskisuomalainen, the drones are used weekly. Journalists are eager to use the drones, but ale also careful not to use drones too much.
Read the whole article here