Cell Phone Plans

Camera Phones Capture Tragedy

July 8, 2005

Minutes after the London bombings, hundreds of photos began flooding websites, brining the experience to those who weren't there. The photos come from the average consumer, toting around camera phones. The pictures put pressure of news sources, which are not able to capture events as they happen.

During the September 11 attacks, people were brought closer together with the use of cell phones, since many of the landlines were not in use. Four years later, cell phones are more important than ever and feature cameras and video options, giving people the power to capture and report the news in a way that has never been popular.

"Sept. 11 marked an important date in the history of how people got information when a major news event happened," Rich Gordon, director of the new media program at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism stated, "Sept. 11 marked an important date in the history of how people got information when a major news event happened."

Referring to the London incident, "This is the first time in my memory as a journalist that cell phones and video phones were used (to document) such a major news event," said Jon Klein, president of CNN-U.S. "But it won't be the last. As we know from home video, the quality is going to be hit or miss, but that's offset by the (picture's) proximity to the story," said Klein. "Technology is metastasizing with the general public. This will demystify the process of news gathering." Although the quality of the photos and videos were poor compared to professionals, the clips were still used by many news mediums.

Within 14-hours of the London bombing 450 photos were posted on Flickr.com, a website that allows users to upload photos. Blogs are also becoming more and more poplar, allowing for information and photos to be posted, including news breaking information that is captured by the average bystander. Some cell phones allow for uploading right from a cell phone.

"Mainstream media are coming to realize they are not islands anymore," said Rich Gordon. "If they want to be a place where people turn to for information, they need to point people to other sources, even if it's information they didn't gather." Many news sources requested photos and video clippings from those who had captured the footage as it occurred.

With the popularity of high tech cell phones, there is bound to be more and more of this amateur news gathering forcing news mediums to find new ways to get the information and photos.

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