Drones by Andy Miah

Author:Andy Miah
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781838679873
Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited
Published: 2019-12-17T16:00:00+00:00

DRONE JOURNALISM

As platforms of investigation, drones have also become popular tools for journalists. Indeed, Strong and Zafra (2016) describe drones as critical components of an emerging era of ‘backpack journalism’, which encompasses other technological systems, such as mobile recording and data-driven journalism. Some of the most remarkable examples of drone journalism are found within circumstances of extreme difficulty, such as natural disasters or other emergency situations. There is now nearly no catastrophic event around the world which is not covered by a drone journalist in some way.

The appeal of drones within journalism is unambiguous in such circumstances. Drones can be deployed rapidly, they are cost-effective, safer than being physically present, but also provide extraordinary visual materials which make for compelling content through which to engage audiences. Yet, drones also function as ideological tools, making manifest the journalist’s aspiration to report on events that, otherwise, might be hidden or restricted from public view, in service of governmental control. Indeed, in many circumstances, using a drone is not a simple exercise, as there are restrictions on their use by aviation authorities. In this respect, a journalist may be acting unlawfully in their news coverage without having first obtained the appropriate permissions and, yet, the drone can be a critical tool especially in countries where there are numerous restrictions on media freedom. A good example of this is found in the journalist practice and community work of AfricanDRONE.

Set up as a grassroots organisation, AfricanDRONE ‘seeks to empower the drone pioneers already living on the continent, by networking them together into a self-help association that can share resources and knowledge’ Africa Drone (no date). In doing so, it pursues ‘stories that tackle social justice or development issues – urbanisation, civic organisation, climate change and global migration’ and asks its reporters to champion principles of ‘open data’, mentoring and becoming a member of its community.

In Nairobi, Hammertsin and Niranjan (2018) report how journalists have used drones to call government reporting into question and to verify what is going on in countries where media freedom does not exist.

For Nairobi-based journalist Soila Kenya, technology is a tool to unearth the truth. She recounts an attack by terrorist group al-Shabab in 2018, when militants struck an army base in Kulbiyow, Somalia. Kenya’s defense forces downplayed the damage and claimed they had repelled the attackers. But satellite stills and drone footage told a different tale. Analysts from African Defense Review and research group Bellingcat found militants had in fact overrun the base – and inflicted heavy casualties in the process. Satellite technology unearthed something that ‘really would not have been possible otherwise’, said Kenya.

The continued use of drones within journalism cannot be taken for granted, as the ambiguity of legal restrictions are open to exploitation and are becoming more rigorously enforced around the world. For example, in 2015, the Kenyan Government effectively grounded the journalist community African SkyCam (Professional Society for Drone Journalists, 2015).

Increasingly, when using a drone for any purpose within civilian airspace, the drone pilot may be

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