Drone journalism

Drone journalism is the use of drones, or unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), for journalistic purposes. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, "an unmanned aircraft is a device that is used, or is intended to be used, for flight in the air with no onboard pilot".^[1][2]

The use of drones for information collection in the journalism industry is still new. In the past, reporters would take aerial footage with helicopters, which are often rented and incur higher production costs. Drone technology allows journalists to take footage of news events such as volcanic eruptions, war-torn villages, and natural disasters.^[3] Because drones are operated remotely, journalists see it as safer and cost-efficient means of video recording, especially in highly vulnerable coverage.^[4]

Several universities, companies, and NGOs are testing drones in this context, namely the Drone Journalism Lab, founded in late November 2011 by Matt Waite, professor of journalism and mass communication at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln,^[5] the Drone Journalism Program at the University of Missouri,^[6] the Civic Drone Centre^[7] based at the University of Central Lancashire, and africanDRONE, based in Cape Town, South Africa.