Last week, before today’s breaking developments in Ukraine, German-based news agency Ruptly got a unique perspective of the chaos in Kiev’s Independence Square, via a drone.
CNN.com was one of the sites to share the video. Though based in Berlin, Ruptly is a service of RT, the Russian government-backed English-language news channel. (The channel, which is available in the U.S., carries Larry King‘s program)
But back to Ruptly, and the use of drones in news coverage. Just this past week a news photographer for a CBS affiliate in Hartford sued the police department after he was being investigated for using a drone, on his own time, to cover a news story. Pedro Rivera, alleges Hartford Police violated his fourth amendment rights. “The presence of a drone at a crime scene for journalistic purposes is in violation of FAA regulations,” police said.
But is the law keeping up with the technology? It’s one of the topics we’ll be talking about at the TVNewser Show, April 29.