Education needed for citizen journalists

Unfortunately, due to both a complete lack of understanding of the basics of shooting video footage and being completely and utterly sh*t-scared at the time, the end result looks less like a news event and more like a wild drug-induced kaleidoscope of blurry grey images that achieve nothing for the viewer other than the onset of a migraine.

Education

I believe that it is time for the world's news channel to start running documentary programmes educating the public on how to become television news journalists.

I remember that, when I first got involved in TV news during the 1960s, the BBC sent me curt note on how to handle a television camera. Something I had never done before.

Quite simply, it read:

1. Point camera at whatever is happening.
   
2. Take a deep breath
   
3. Push "on" button
   
4. Count to 10 slowly
   
5. Push the "off" button
   
6. Point the camera somewhere else
   
7. Repeat steps 2 - 5.

   Note: DO NOT under any circumstances pan from side to side while pointing the camera at what is happening and counting to 10. If we catch you panning we will find you wherever you are hiding and beat you to a bloody pulp.

Who can pan?

Of course nowadays, modern TV news cameras can pan if necessary without causing viewers to throw up or hallucinate.

But, those millions of well-meaning amateur journalists using their smartphones don't know the first thing about the mechanics of TV news coverage, with the result that they tend to pan about like crazy, having fallen into the oldest TV newsman's trap in the world of believing that something far more dramatic is happening just outside their line of vision.

Not psychic

There is absolutely no doubt that what will draw audiences to television news bulletins in future will be the promise of being able to witness whatever is happening while it is happening. TV news crews are never-ever psychic enough to be able to be in the right place at the right time. And almost always they get to the scene after the event has happened.

And that's where citizen journalism comes in. These are people right there on the spot with video cameras in their smartphones. But, unless they are educated on how to use those smartphones, the viewing public will soon get tired of looking at a grey jumble of nothing the TV news anchor is telling them is actually something happening.