Video journalism

[1] Michael Rosenblum compared the introduction of video cameras to the invention of the portable camera in the 1930s: film spools of plastic made photography independent from heavy plates and tripods, and digital video technology liberates TV from heavy electronic news gathering (ENG) equipment, artificial light and television studios in much the same manner.

In Canada, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation made a widespread move into hiring video journalists (or retraining existing reporters or camera people to do multiple jobs) in the late 1990s.

Within a few years, however, it was clear that this rarely produced good results because of short deadlines and the assumption that VJ’s could work the same way and on the same stories.

The exception turned out to be video journalists who work more as independent documentary film-makers, using their electronic field production (EFP) mobility and easier access to do stories that don’t have short deadlines.

One example of this is award-winning video journalist Sasa Petricic, who works for CBC’s flagship daily newscast, The National, and reports solo from around the world.

Tara Sutton another Canadian video journalist reported for multiple news outlets from Iraq and other conflicts and won many international awards.

She has cited the unobtrusively small equipment of a video journalist as allowing her to move undercover more easily in the extreme danger of Iraq and access places where traditional news crews could not have gone without become targets.

In addition, the dramatically lower costs have made possible the birth of many cinéma vérité-style documentary films and television series.