Written for the Editors Weblog
Citizen photojournalism comes into question once again with the aftermath of G20. As citizens are increasingly equipped with gadgets that photograph and video, surveillance of society also increases. Some argue that they should own the rights to their image and others say we should have the freedom to take and publish pictures of anything. One thing is sure; there are more photographers out their doing the work of watchdog.
During the G20 protests, a policeman knocked a man, Ian Tomlinson to the ground, who died a few minutes later. If the death was caused by the fall, nobody knows for sure, but there are several pictures of Ian Tomlinson that day that captured him hours before the push, during the push, and even after. In another epoch this would have been a highly difficult reality, but today with millions of citizens equipped with cameras, this is even commonplace at an event like G20.
Citizen photojournalism comes into question once again with the aftermath of G20. As citizens are increasingly equipped with gadgets that photograph and video, surveillance of society also increases. Some argue that they should own the rights to their image and others say we should have the freedom to take and publish pictures of anything. One thing is sure; there are more photographers out their doing the work of watchdog.During the G20 protests, a policeman knocked a man, Ian Tomlinson to the ground, who died a few minutes later. If the death was caused by the fall, nobody knows for sure, but there are several pictures of Ian Tomlinson that day that captured him hours before the push, during the push, and even after. In another epoch this would have been a highly difficult reality, but today with millions of citizens equipped with cameras, this is even commonplace at an event like G20.
"What we are witnessing, as any professional photojournalist will tell you, is the unstoppable rise of the citizen-photographer," wrote Ian Jack from The Guardian, who also said "it will be words and not pictures that tell us" the truth about the Tomlinson incident and others like it.
As citizen photojournalists grow, access to their photos also grows. There are numerous Web site services today that make it easier for individuals to broadcast their images, even with the possibility of pay. Photojournalism is changing along with the rest of news media. As it is unstoppable, newsrooms, journalists and governments are discussing how far the public surveillance should go.
Source: TheGuardian.co.uk
As citizen photojournalists grow, access to their photos also grows. There are numerous Web site services today that make it easier for individuals to broadcast their images, even with the possibility of pay. Photojournalism is changing along with the rest of news media. As it is unstoppable, newsrooms, journalists and governments are discussing how far the public surveillance should go.
Source: TheGuardian.co.uk
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