Digital Deputy Reporters

A little while back Associated Press reported that one of the largest newspapers in Germany, Bild--which means "picture" in English--is expanding their reported base, but not by hiring.

Instead, they have partnered with a large German grocery chain, Lidl, to sell inexpensive digital cameras to what they hope to be an army of citizens, who in effect will then become "digitally deputized" reporters for the paper.

According to AP, Michael Paustian, a managing editor for the paper with a circulation of 3.3 million weekday copies, said, "We can't cover everything. We think it is an advance for journalism."

The camera, which comes with 2 gigabytes of memory, and is good for both stills and video, comes with necessary software, and a USB port that allows the digital deputy (also referred to as "reader-reporter") to upload pictures directly to Bild editors, assigned with the specific task of reviewing such images for publication.

Tobias Froehlich, a Bild spokesman, said that the paper's goal was to encourage such deputies to gain the widest possible exposure for their work.

The idea, of course, is not new--how often do we not see "public images" or video in newscasts, but this is probably the first active push to recruit such reader-reporters.

Not so sure how the existing photographers/reporters feel about that, but this the story doesn't tell.

It does however go on to mention that Eva Werner, a spokeswoman for the German Journalists' Association, begged to differ with this being such a great concept. In fact, she feared that Bild's army of digital deputies would undermine the work of the paper's full-time counterparts by using paparazzi like tactics to photograph celebrities, or even interfere with police in their enthusiasm to capture the ins and outs of a crime or accident scene for the paper.

"It poses a threat to quality journalism," she said. "The more images from non-professionals that are pushed onto the market, even though professional images are available."

Perhaps the paper is also trying to save a buck, no?

The jury is still out on this one.