When video becomes viral does it become news?
Is it police abuse or is it a proper arrest?
I'm talking about this video.
The citizen video of an arrest at Smith Homes is out there for anyone to watch. When, if ever, does it become news? If it is a proper and justified arrest, should the newspaper bother to write about it? Is it fair to the officers and the victim to publish an article about it, identifying both?Does it take on its own life simply by being recorded and posted on YouTube? Does the newspaper give it more weight than it deserves by writing about it?
Those are some of the questions that come to mind watching it. The police commanders our reporter spoke with had seen the video but noted nothing untoward in the actions of the officers. As of yesterday, no complaints had been filed about the incident.
We have not written about it because, other than the video of the arrest being available online, there doesn't seem to be much real news involved. But as citizen journalism continues to grow, newspapers and TV stations will continue to grapple with these sorts of questions. At least, I think we will.
Fox8's report last night.
Update: They acted appropriately.
Comments (1)
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I'm really beginning to believe that this is the future of journalism--ordinary citizens documenting observable phenomena and sharing it on the Web. I've linked to this "Cop Watch" video on my own blog, John. Thanks for sharing.
Posted on August 13, 2008 11:38 AM