Neil Arun didn’t want to miss a rare but risky opportunity to embed with an Iraqi police unit, hunting members of al Qaeda. But his employers -- responsible for Neil’s security -- weren’t happy. This film by Richard Pendry nvestigates how a frontline journalist balances risk and reward.
Not the most uplifting thing to post on a journalism education site, but this video chronicling the death of a US newspaper after a century and a half is certainly a sign of the times. It's way too long, and a little self-indulgent, but under the circumstances you can't blame its creators, whose first instinct was to report their own demise. Watch the first couple of minutes and then skip to about 16 mins, when the final coup de grace is delivered. I've been in that situation. It's bloody horrible.
Final Edition from Matthew Roberts on Vimeo.
It is too long. It is indulgent. But it is also a important warning for our times. The role that newspapers play in investigating and revealing information and checking the arrogance of elected power is one the internet has not yet adapted to perform. It can, when newspaper style reporting is affordable online, but that time is slow in coming and I fear the credit crunch will delay it yet longer.
Worse even than being too long, the player doesn't let you fast forward. Both things are important for online video.
You can fast forward - but not immediately. You have to wait until the video has streamed beyond the point you want to fast forward to.