The Chilean earthquake struck early Saturday morning and by mid-afternoon I was trying to gather as much information as I could. There was the aftermath in Chile to report on, but there was also the resulting tsunamis that could have occurred across the Pacific. The most immediate concern for the U.S. TV networks was the possibility of a tsunami hitting Hawaii. I browsed around CNN and Fox News and both seemed to concentrating heavily on the Hawaii aspect of the story, with video from local affiliates being shown. CNN was even simulcasting a direct feed from a local Hawaii station for several minutes.
I watched NBC Nightly News to see how they would handle the story after having a good deal of time to collect information. They had a reporter do a package with video from multiple sources in Chile, it appeared. Then the reporter conducted a Skype interview with a freelance journalist in Chile. This was very insightful. It was probably the most insightful reporting I had seen all day. The freelance reporter described how the sky was changing colors, which helped to paint the picture of what it was like in the moment. Just the fact that the NBC reporter and the freelance reporter were able to connect online was telling. I was impressed that the Internet connection was still in place and she was able to stay in the building (it appeared to be a hotel) she was in. It helped to show that at least there were some buildings that were still safe.
I thought this use of Skype was a good example of the impact of technology in a story like this. NBC wouldn't have been able to get a reporter to Chile by Saturday evening, but they did the next best thing by finding one and showing her via video on Skype. It added a great extra dimension to the story that I didn't find on the cable channels. It was an impressive package on a tight deadline and with limited resources within Chile.
No comments:
Post a Comment