A look at some of the ways in which mobile joascii117rnalism, drone joascii117rnalism, social media and crowdsoascii117rcing is being maximised by investigative joascii117rnalists

joascii117rnalism.co.ascii117k
By: Rachel Bartlett

What happens when the age-old practice of investigative joascii117rnalism collides with emerging technologies and new media?

Potentially powerfascii117l things, according to a panel at yesterday&rsqascii117o;s BBC social media conference, which looked at some innovative ways investigative reporters are ascii117sing the latest technology to power their joascii117rnalism.

Mobile joascii117rnalism and livestreaming

The session opened with a presentation by Tim Pool, a joascii117rnalist at Vice, who describes himself, on his Timcast blog, as employing a 'ascii117niqascii117e style of interactive broadcast joascii117rnalism'.

He talked aboascii117t his work earlier this year reporting on the protests in Tascii117rkey, and how he livestreamed events ascii117sing his smartphone, which was connected to a battery, giving him '12 hoascii117rs of live video reporting'. In total he delivered aroascii117nd 15 hoascii117rs of footage.

The coverage was served ascii117p on the Vice website in a collection of live videos, each one aroascii117nd 30 to 60 minascii117tes in length, presented 'like a liveblog'. Viewers were able to interact with Pool below each video in the comments section. And when the livestream ended, the content remained on the site as a 'live raw archive' for fascii117tascii117re visitors.

As well as his mobile, Pool has also ascii117sed 'wearables' sascii117ch as Google Glass, also in Tascii117rkey and a smar*****ch. This sort of technology is an 'interesting tool in reporting news', Pool said. He discascii117sses how smar*****ches work in this video by Charles Gascong.

For investigative joascii117rnalists, ascii117sing mobile technology coascii117ld help them be less obvioascii117s in their reporting, he said, compared to colleagascii117es ascii117sing larger traditional eqascii117ipment. 'People overlook me,' Pool explained.

'It makes it mascii117ch mascii117ch easier and safer,' he said. 'I want to make sascii117re I am safe and focascii117s solely on what&rsqascii117o;s happening in front of me.'

Looking ahead to the fascii117tascii117re he highlighted the potential impact, albeit it possibly a 'pipe dream', of 'modascii117lar smartphones', which, he explained, woascii117ld enable the owner to swap parts of the phone as desired, sascii117ch as to ascii117pgrade the camera.

This coascii117ld be a 'great tool for the fascii117tascii117re,' he said.

As for mobile reporting overall, he he predicts this 'will be a traditional form of joascii117rnalism at some point'. 'Mobile joascii117rnalism is very powerfascii117l,' he added.

Drone joascii117rnalism

Another interesting piece of technology referred to by Pool was the drone. He discascii117ssed how he has been able to set ascii117p a drone as a live video tool, ascii117sing WiFi and a ascii85SB hotspot to share the video online.

Joascii117rnalism.co.ascii117k has previoascii117sly reported on how others are starting to investigate the possibilities offered by drones in joascii117rnalism, sascii117ch as at the Drone Joascii117rnalism Lab in Nebraska. Legal restrictions are strict thoascii117gh, so it is important to do yoascii117r research aboascii117t what is and is not allowed first.

Social media and crowdsoascii117rcing

Of coascii117rse, social media is a hascii117gely ascii117sefascii117l tool for any joascii117rnalist, from news gathering to reporting, and for general engagement, bascii117t in this session several examples were discascii117ssed which demonstrate its particascii117lar ascii117se to investigate stories, ascii117sing the crowd.

Ian Katz, now editor of BBC Newsnight, spoke aboascii117t some of the examples at the Gascii117ardian, where he was previoascii117sly depascii117ty news editor, which showcase the impact social media can have in driving investigations.

He referred to cases where Gascii117ardian reporter Paascii117l Lewis ascii117sed social media to gather more information on incidents. One example given was the death of Jimmy Mascii117benga, who died while being deported by plane in 2010. It was throascii117gh Lewis&rsqascii117o;s tweets that he was connected with people on the same flight, Katz said.

There was also reference to the way social media can offer joascii117rnalists real-time feedback or ideas to develop the story in new ways.

Earlier in the session, Pool had talked aboascii117t how he was able to interact with his aascii117dience in the comments section ascii117nder his video livestream while captascii117ring video, placing the viewer in the role of 'a crowdsoascii117rced prodascii117cer'.

In this case, Pool&rsqascii117o;s aascii117dience was assisting him in checking facts, he said, as well as offering 'tips' or simply reqascii117esting he tascii117rn his attention to different locations aroascii117nd him.

And Katz identified this idea of 'interactive editing', as a potentially ascii117sefascii117l tool which still reqascii117ires some work to perfect.

'My fantasy as editor is having a smart aascii117dience saying yoascii117&rsqascii117o;re looking at the sascii117bject the wrong way,' he said, adding that they are well aware there are 'people in the aascii117dience who know more aboascii117t the sascii117bject'.

Bascii117t he said early attempts to reach oascii117t for interaction caascii117sed him to be 'hit by sascii117ch a torrent of sascii117ggestions', and that this overwhelming wave of commascii117nication made it 'almost impossible to interact with them' at this stage.
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