The use of remotely controlled drones to gather news has stirred interest among a small group of journalism students at the University of Missouri. At the same time, it has raised concerns among some members of the state Legislature, which is considering a bill to prohibit the use of unmanned aircraft to collect information in agricultural areas.
AFP photographer Emmanuel Dunard’s photo of a praying Aline Marie at a Newtown, Conn., church brings up an issue where many photojournalists and members of the public disagree. Marie considered her praying outside the St. Rose of Lima church on the night of the shootings to be a private moment. She says she “felt like a zoo animal” when she realized that a number of photographers from across the nation and world were photographing her. In this and other similar circumstances, photojournalists often seem to think that a good photo trumps a person’s privacy. Accordingly, they often hide behind the “I’m shooting from a public space” rationale to justify their actions. But the “public space” position is a legal argument – and one that most members of the public either do not understand or with which they disagree.
St. Louis Beacon political reporter Jo Mannies accepted the John Michael McGuire Lifetime Achievement Award from United Media Guild on Jan. 25. Mannies was honored for more than 30 years of covering politics and policy in an intrepid, unbiased way. McGuire, a longtime and beloved feature writer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, died in 2009.
Beef Products Inc., the South Dakota-based company suing ABC News for defamation, has asked that the case be returned to South Dakota state court and out of federal jurisdiction. The Jan. 17 article by Reuters, headlined “BPI wants ABC ‘pink slime’ defamation case back in state court,” reports that “BPI’s attorneys argued that a state court is the proper forum because the case also involves two related companies: BPI Technology Inc. and Freezing Machines Inc. that do business in South Dakota and are incorporated in Delaware. BPI and the two other entities are all owned by Eldon and Regina Roth.”
The St. Louis Media History Foundation has announced its 2012 inductees to the St. Louis Media Hall of Fame, and all have made their mark on St. Louis journalism, advertising and public relations. The inductees were elected by the St. Louis Media History Foundation board of directors from among dozens of nominees and were announced Jan. 29. They will be recognized at an induction ceremony scheduled for 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Feb. 20 at Copia Restaurant and Wine Bar, located at the intersection of 11th and Washington Avenue in downtown St. Louis.